Rusty Protector
by Makuta52
Summary: In a universe filled with creatures, Louise ends up summoning a machine as her familiar. Will new-age technology be able to coexist with a land revolving around magic? OC Steampunk.
1. Arrival

**A/N: Finally! I decided to do this! Hey reader person. Makuta52 here, and I will be your humble author for the evening. Or morning. Or afternoon. (My attempts for a laugh are pathetic, are they not?)**

_**ZnT**_** has quickly become one of my favorite animes ever. Its humor is great, its plot is great, and its characters are as likeable as ever. So, as I begin watching the new season, I will begin this fanfic for you dear readers. Enjoy, and I'll see you at the bottom!**

_ZnT_ belongs to Noboru Yamaguchi and J.C. Staff. I don't own a thing…yet.

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Arrival<span>

_Tristain Academy of Magic._

Summer came once again, the breezes cool and the sun bright. It was that time of year again. Students gathered around, ready to perform their summoning spells. To find their familiar, their devoted and loving servant.

And as usual, it was up to Mr. Colbert, the fire mage of the school, to watch over the students as they did so. He didn't mind at all, actually. Rather, he enjoyed the whole process. Seeing the familiars that were summoned was actually fun to watch, wondering wherever these creatures were from before that one life changing chant. Thinking about it in that context, however, makes it seem like a terrible concept.

Colbert looked around. "Has everyone completed the ritual?"

The group of students looked around as well, trying to single out the one student who hadn't performed the year round ritual. And, unfortunately, they succeeded, finding the one without a familiar. The group collectively stared at the strawberry-blonde, who increasingly became more and more red with every person watching her. She slowly stepped up, passing the mob of eyes watching over her. When she made it up her teacher, she had already heard the whispers among her fellow students.

"Oh boy. It's the Zero."

"Better back up. There's bound to be an explosion when she's done."

Colbert looked at the girl that stood in front of him. "Louise, are you ready?"

The pinkette looked up with her large equally pink eyes, a look of confidence on her face. She nodded as she whipped out her wand. Others around her backed up, knowing the girl's reputation for…'interesting' spell results. Even Colbert stiffened, wondering what was to happen next.

Proudly, Louise shot her wand up into the air and began her chant for the summoning rights.

"My slave, who lives somewhere in the universe! Oh sacred, beautiful and strong spirit! I desire and here plead from my heart! Answer to my guidance!"

Before the others around her could begin to tease her on her version of the summoning chant, Louise flicked her wrist and cast the spell. What came of it was…to be expected. With a bright flash and a big bang, an explosion detonated, spreading a cloud of dust everywhere. Some of the students fell over from the sheer power of the blast, others coughed from the debris that came from it. Colbert wiped the dust from his brow and squinted, trying to find the one closest to the explosion - Louise. It took a while, but the dust soon settled, revealing the pink haired girl and…something else, sprawled out by her feet.

Everyone looked at the new arrival with confusion and awe. It was…something, they couldn't quite describe it. It was mechanical, but had a humanistic form to it. Rusted armor covered its body, giving off a weird mixture of new and old at the same time. Its legs were long, with triangular feet supporting it, if it was standing, of course. Its arms were also long, with five fingered metal hands protruding out of them. But what was most mystifying about the creature was its head. Four large eyes on a round head, with sharp edges resembling a small helmet on top.

The other students grew closer, wanting to see the thing up close. Even Louise leaned over it, wondering if it was alive or not. She nervously gulped as she slowly moved her shaking hand over the summoned machine's head. As if on cue, the massive thing moved, spreading its arms out to help itself get up. As it rose, the gathered group could see how tall it was. Even Colbert was taken aback at the size of the machine. It moved its four bright eyed head, scanning the area and seeing all the locals. Where…was he?

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><p>He looked around confused. This wasn't where he was at first. He looked at the ground. Grass. Vegetation consisting of short plants with narrow leaves. Not concrete. Then he looked back up, his shiny white eyes looking directly at someone. Smaller than him. Much smaller. He cocked his head. Her hair…was pink? What an odd choice. Was she born with it? He really wanted to know. The machine kneeled down, now eye level with the female, ignoring the other life forms he sensed around him.<p>

"Who are you?" The machine asked in a monotone voice. The girl just stared back at him. Could she understand him? Was he in a foreign land? The girl turned to face a much older man behind her. Her lips moved, but he could not understand her either. Even with the ability to read lips, the dialect was hard to translate. It sounded familiar, but garbled.

"_Umm…Mr. Colbert?" _She called back to her superior.

"_Yes Louise? What is it?" _The older man responded.

"_Is…is this right?" _She turned back at the metal thing, staring at him with worried confusion. The machine calculated that something was amiss. Was it his presence that brought forth such befuddlement?

He heard voices through his sensors. Snickering and whispers. Coming from the group behind, watching from afar. Words jumbled together incoherently. They sounded mockingly, though. They must have been making fun of her or something of that sort.

The bald man nodded his head. _"Yes Louise. You must finish the ceremony. It's the rule. You know this."_

Standing in silence, the pink haired child continued to stare into his eyes. White meeting pink, pink meeting white. The machine heard the girl sigh, a very saddening sigh it was. Then, she begin to speak.

"_I am Louise Francoise Lu Blanc de la Valliere. Pentagon that governs the five powers, give this…person your blessing and make it my familiar spirit."_

She paused for a moment, then leaned in towards the creature's head. He did not back away, mostly because he had no idea what was going on. But then…then he felt a something warm on his cold, metal armor. It was her. He felt her as she…kissed him. The creatures eyes were set in place, but if they could, they would have grown much, much larger. He had never felt such affection before. He could sense the heat coming from her body, even though he himself had no body heat. The kiss seemed to last an eternity. But the machine didn't care.

Eventually, however, the girl - who the metal thing calculated her name being Louise, that much he was certain - reclined away from him, taking her warm embrace with her. She backed up, letting her teacher come and stand by her. The machine heard something come from the former's mouth, only able to make out the word, 'runes.' Before he could contemplate what that meant, he felt pain on his right hand. If he was human, he would have winced. It was a burning pain, as if someone was etching something into his metal skin. He looked down when the pain began to subside, finding something was indeed encoded onto his hand. They looked like nothing more than simple lines. Maybe it was a language? A code?

He would find out later. When he looked up again, the crowd had begun to disperse, obviously uninterested in his presence anymore. Rising up from his kneeling position, the machine found the strawberry-blonde Louise impatiently staring at him, her hands on her hips and her foot tapping the ground.

"_Familiar! Come on!" _She seemed to beckon for him. He complied, knowing nowhere else to go.

* * *

><p>As he followed the pink haired child, the machine had begun scanning everything he could possibly learn about this place he was in. It looked like a school, having passed a courtyard, a kitchen, a dining hall, and a few rooms he assumed were dorms. Everything here was made of stone, no machinery in sight. The closest he found to a metal companion were some aluminum pots and pans. Not really the most intelligent of objects to start a conversation with.<p>

Soon, the girl named Louise stopped in front of a room after the two climbed a long spiral staircase. She pulled out a key from her pocket and unlocked the door, then entered the room. The machine - who was a good seven to eight feet - wondered if he should enter as well. Deciding the task beneficial, he bent down so he could pass through the door. Thankfully, it was both wide and tall enough for him to fit through. He scanned the room, finding nothing out of the ordinary, except for how regal it looked. The bed, table, and dresser looked very extravagant, and probably cost a lot. Best no sit on any of them.

"_Hey! Familiar!"_

The machine turned to face Louise, who's arms were folded and her foot still taping. He cocked his head. She obviously still didn't understand that he couldn't… well… understand. She continued her shouts.

"_Familiar!" _She kept repeating. Familiar. Well known for long or close association. The two only met each other an hour ago. Why does she continue to repeat that word?

The machine decided to try something. He pointed at her, then back at him and shook his head, hoping she would be able to interpret the miming. Louise stared at him for a minute, then nodded.

"_You can't understand me, can you?" _The machine nodded.

Sighing, the girl whipped out her wand, and pointed it at the robotic newcomer. He, naturally, did not understand the chant she made, only able to make out the words 'let,' 'creature,' 'native,' and 'tongue.' An explosion was the end conclusion, filling the room with dust and smoke. The machine toppled over, the force of such a controlled blast too much even for his durability. He could not see, wiping his lenses of anything blocking them. It took another minute before the dirty air soon lifted, and he was able to find Louise coughing and somehow still standing. She must be very durable. Or really lucky.

To the robot's relief, she spoke. "D-did it work?"

Happily, but unable to show it, he nodded his round head. "Yes."

She was happy as well. He could sense it. But she too did not show it. "G-good! Now you can understand your master."

He cocked his mechanical head. "Master?"

Louise sighed. "Right… let's start with something easy. What's your name?"

"My name?" The robot processed the easy question, answering it in a monotone voice. "Cronoz. My name is Cronoz."

The pinkette cocked an eyebrow. "Cro…nos?" Obviously, the name was new to her.

The rusty mech shook its head. "Cronoz." He corrected.

"Whatever. At any rate, you are still my familiar and I your master," Louise turned away and opened her dresser. "You must still perform the tasks I assign you."

As she began to undress, Cronoz tried to look away. He was programmed by his _real_ master that such activities, like staring at a young women, were vulgar and wrong. But, there was something about this girl. She was indeed pretty, but there was something that he sensed within her. Even though he was a machine, Cronoz knew untapped potential when he could sense it. And this oddly haired colored child was no exception.

Of course, like most girls, she didn't like having anyone watching her change. Especially someone with four eyes.

"H-hey! Look away!" Louise shouted. Cronoz complied.

"Query." The mechanical creature said.

Louise, who finally draped her nightgown over her head, turned around. "What?"

"Familiar," Cronoz started. "What is a familiar?"

"Well…" The young mage frowned. No one had asked that question before. "A familiar is a spirit that comes when a mage summons them. You, in that sense, are my familiar."

"Summoned?" Cronoz repeated. "So, familiar is a synonym for slave?"

"Slave? No, no…more like a servant."

"…So a slave."

Louise stood in silence. Cronoz thought for a minute that she had lost power. Maybe she needed a recharge. Before he could find out, she flew her clothes at him, to which he clumsily caught them. Again, if he was human, his face would have gone red. In his metal palms he held not only her soft black cloak, but also her shirt, skirt and…panties. He looked back up at Louise.

"Wash these." She commanded. She sat down on her bed, and got under the covers, her bright pink hair sprawling about. Cronoz thought she looked kinda cute.

"Query."

Louise placed a hand on her head and rolled around to stare at him. "What is it now?" She asked, annoyed.

"You do not have a washing machine?" Cronoz asked politely. The stare he received as a response was what he expected.

"A washing what?" The mage sat up, and folded her arms. "Just have them done by the morning."

"But-" Cronoz began. Louise interrupted by getting out of bed and attempted to shoo him out of the room. Of course, it was fruitless. How could a sixteen year old frail girl force a one ton robot out of her room with her bare hands? Sighing a mechanical sigh, Cronoz decided to obey, and walked out, unknowingly letting Louise trip and almost smack her head on the ground. He knelt down when exiting the room, and closed the door on his own accord. If this girl was indeed her new master, might as well start with something trivial to start a relationship. As he walked down the stairs, he could here the door _CLICK _behind him. He ignored it.

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><p>As he walked down the halls of the school again, Cronoz sighed. He had been walking for twenty minutes, trying to find someone who could help him. Never in his life was he asked to wash clothes. He wore no clothes, so obviously there was no need for him to do it. Also, he was not designed to do such a task, or any tasks like it. He was a seeker, programmed to search and learn, gain as much knowledge as he possibly could. At least this new experience - the new world, not the laundry - would give something for him something to report when he returned home.<p>

_If_ he returned home.

"Where is home?" He mumbled to himself. He rounded a corner, still holding the laundry in a neat, tidy pile. In the hallway he entered Cronoz saw two life forms. Both human. One was a blonde male, with a fluffy white undershirt under his black cape. The rusty 'familiar' - he was beginning to hate that word more and more - remembered seeing the boy in the group that watched his forthcoming. The other shorter one was a black haired female, wearing a brown cape, indicating she was a first year student - another concept Cronoz figured out on his own.

"Oh Katie, I've always had a thing for you and your cooking. But mostly you."

"Oh Guiche, really?~"

Humans and their emotions. The robot snorted silently. Not wanting to be spotted and raise a ruckus, Cronoz decided to turn around and find help somewhere else. Lucky for him, that help came around the corner as soon he turned around. A black haired girl in a maid outfit. Perfect. She has to know how to do laundry.

"Hello." Cronoz started, alerting the girl of his presence. She turned and yelped in surprise, not suspecting to find a towering robotic creature waving its hand at her. She back up, stuttering.

"P-p-p-please d-don't hurt m-me!" The maid lifted up the tray she was holding up to her face.

Cronoz shook his head and hands. "No. I'm not going to hurt you," He knelt down beside her. "I just need your help."

The maid looked up from behind her frail defense. "H-help?"

_Ten minutes later._

"OK, I think I understand now," Siesta - the maid's name - confirmed. "You're Cranaas, and you're a second year student's familiar."

"Cronoz." The creature corrected.

Siesta went red in the face. "S-sorry. It's just such a weird name…"

The mech held up a hand. "I understand."

He was glad he was able to find help, especially in the form of someone capable like Siesta. Apparently she's been working at the school as a maid for sometime now. The two sat in the moonlight near a well. It sure would have been a strange sight for anyone who saw them: A regular commoner next to a giant rusty golem-like creature. It took a while, but Cronoz evidently was able to add a new file to his memory: Washing Laundry.

As he hung up his master's clothing on the clothesline, the machine turned his head to meet the maid's.

"Thank you, Siesta."

"Oh," Siesta blushed. She probably wasn't expecting a 'thank you' from such a creature. "You're welcome."

"Query."

"Huh?"

Cronoz knelt down beside Siesta again, resting his hand on the grass covered ground. "You…are not a mage?"

Siesta nodded. "That is true. I am no noble, as you can plainly tell." She motioned to her black and white maid uniform.

"But you are so pretty." The robot complimented in the hopes that she would find that sweet, rather than awkward and creepy.

Lucky for him, she picked the former, turning redder in the cheeks. "Well…thank you," She looked at the ground, embarrassed. "I'd better be going. I'm sure there is a student that needs me."

Siesta made a small wave as she turned and ran back into the building, leaving a confused Cronoz staring at her. "Bye." He quietly whispered as he turned to inspect how the laundry was doing. When he did, something caught his. Not the laundry, but something in the sky. With his four white eyes, he focused on the two massive planet-like objects that seemingly hung in the sky. He quickly could tell they were moons. But they were like nothing he had ever seen before. The larger one was blue, where as the smaller one was a bright pink. It was both beautiful and strange at the same time. And yet…it was also depressing.

"Where…is home?" The lost mech repeated his question from earlier.

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><p><strong>AN: Phew! Good to go. So, here's the first chapter! How is it? I like it, even though most beginnings to a story are usually really cruddy. I went through a lot of ideas before coming with this one about Louise getting a robot as a partner. I felt it would make an interesting story. Of course, Cronoz belongs to me. No takey takey. **

**Please tell me if there's anything I can approve on. But don't be a jerk about it, k? Good. I'll come after you. **

**Thanks for reading, review if you want, and have an explosionrific day!**


	2. Little Question, Bad Luck

_ZnT_ belongs to Noboru Yamaguchi and J.C. Staff. I own Cronoz. He mine.

Chapter 2: Little Question, Bad Luck

The calming morning light from the sun flooded through the windows of Louise's room. It lit up the room like an early morning candle, rising from the east right on schedule. The warmth from its rays tickled the strawberry-blonde's face, slowly waking her up. She sat up in her soft bed and stretched her arms out, yawning as she did so. Lazily rubbing her eyes, Louise rolled over out of her bed, and started to open her drawers. As she gripped the handle, she remembered something vitally important.

"F…familiar…" She moaned, tired.

No response.

"Familiar." Louise stated a little louder.

Still, no response. She finally turned around, angered with the excessive silence that kept slapping her in the face. She scanned her whole room, finding nothing out of the ordinary. A bad thing, of course. Fuming from the ears, Louise stomped to the front of the room, her facing slowly transforming into a tomato. She unlocked the door and flung it open. Her eyes started having a battle: they couldn't decide whether to burst out of her small head, or narrow with the increasing fury.

Sitting right outside the door was something that could only be described as a rusty metallic mushroom, like some great metal package that was delivered and left. To its left was a tray table, on top of which was all of the mage's laundry - cape, shirt, skirt, undershirt and panties. Louise walked up to the metal thing, and rapped it with her knuckle.

"Uh…familiar?" She asked in an odd curiosity.

Almost immediately, the formally unmoving object began to shake and contort. Its limbs spread out equally; two arms, two legs. As it rose up, Louise, whom had moved back in shock and awe, could hear gears and other mechanics _CLANG_ and _TING_ in response. Its torso doing a complete 360 turn, the robot finished changing from its resting form by sprouting out its horned four-eyed head, and stared at the girl who seconds ago he could sense hostility from.

"Good morning, Ms. Valliere." It monotony spoke, waving its large metal hand.

"Cro - familiar!" She shouted, stopping herself before actually calling her servant by its real name. "What are you doing out here? Sleeping on the job?" She folded her arms triumphantly.

Cronoz shook his head. "Negative. You locked the door behind me after I left. After I returned with your clothes, I decided to let you rest, rather than disturb you with my intrusion." He mimicked his master's pose.

"Hey! D-do not mock your me, familiar!" Louise fumed, stomping her foot on the ground.

As she swiped her clothes from the rack that stood next to the mechanical behemoth, the two could hear a door open down the hall. They both turned their heads, finding a student leaning on the wall, giggling.

"Well, well, Louise. Isn't it a little early to be getting into fights, especially with your own familiar?" The female student teased.

Cronoz scanned the girl. She was taller than his new master, with a much more tanned body. Her ruby red hair fell back, just as Louise's did. Her clothes, however, were completely opposite of the pink haired mage, exposing more skin than the rusty tin mech was used to. If he were human, he would have been blushing every shade of red there was.

Obviously, Louise knew this too. "H-hey! Familiar!" She knocked on his head repeatedly, getting his attention. "Get in here, now!"

"But-" The rusty 'familiar' protested, but was again interrupted just like the night before, with his master failing to get his hulking mass into her room. Sighing, he made a small wave to the busty student down the hall before leaning down to fit through the door, with a pushy Louise… well… pushing him. As soon as the duo were in the dorm, she slammed the door, leaving a laughing Kirche out in the hall.

"Don't even think about talking to that wretched Zerbst!" Louise commanded as she set her laundry on the round table in the middle of her room. As she began to undress out of her nightgown, Cronoz looked away again.

Without looking, he stuck out a finger. "Query."

"Must you say that every time before you ask me something?" Louise sighed.

"This Zerbst… you do not like her?" He stupidly asked. He was programmed to gather knowledge, and with that, confirmation of said knowledge. Even if it was something he could already guess on his own.

Louise turned to stab a stare at him. "What do you think?"

Cronoz said nothing, feeling stupid, and somewhat annoyed that his programmer actually made him have to ask something so obvious. His master shook her head.

"Forget about her. Here." She tossed him her clothes, to which he caught more carefully then last time.

"You want me to clothe you?" He guessed. His four-eyed head looked up, to find the familiar form of hands-on-hips, waiting impatiently for him. "You cannot do this yourself?"

"Do not talk back to your master, and do what you are told!" Louise shouted again. Never in his life had Cronoz met a louder human being. It was like talking to a walking talking record player on the 'high' setting. Obliging, the mech slowly lumbered to his child-for-a-master, and, as carefully as he could, began to dress her. It was… taxing, to say the least. It took the mech at least five minutes just to figure out how to get the undershirt on, before being able to accomplish the rest. The more time he wasted, the more impatience he could feel coming from his master. Eventually, thankfully, he was able to finish his task, using two fingers to pin Louise's cloak to her clothes.

With a sigh of relief, Cronoz squatted back down. "Finished."

Louise took a gander at herself, and found it satisfactory. "Good. Now, let's go. Class is about to begin."

As the unlikely duo left her room, Cronoz had a itching sensation begin in his mind. He spoke as Louise locked the door to her room. "Query."

"Yeah?" Louise responded without turning around.

"Is the reason you do not like the girl from before because of the difference in your breast size?"

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><p>Cronoz sighed as he sat down in the courtyard, his back up against a wall near some of the other familiars. Why was his programmer so evil, to make him have to ask such a stupid-ass question like that? Louise was furious, and shouted for about ten minutes, berating him and smacking him. Of course, the 'punishment' seemed to affect her more then him, thanks to his metal body. She, however, made him, a knowledge seeking android craving as much information as he possibly could, sit outside while she took her classes. He cursed himself, wanting to know what was going on inside her classroom. But, as a good 'familiar,' Cronoz waited outside until the bell releases his master.<p>

A purple blob obscured his vision of his view of the courtyard. Cronoz stared at it, his four-eyed metal head expressionlessly gawking at it. The creature had tiny black wings on its bulbous purple form. No head, just one, terrifyingly huge yellow eye with long eyelashes. The whole thing was completed by a squiggly tail that looked like a road sign arrow if it had been crushed by an accordion.

Cronoz reached his hand and tried to grab it. The creature bobbed away from his reach, and avoided every other time he made a grab for it. Eventually, the mech stopped, feeling no use in his attempt to capture the thing. As it floated away, he scanned the other life forms that hung around one another out with him. He found a variety of creatures: a plump brown mole, a tiny orange frog, a fire-spewing salamander, and a larger-then-life sapphire creature with wings. His databanks read it off as a 'dragon,' a mythical monster like a giant lizard. Sounded pretty accurate to him. Although he didn't want to, Cronoz kept his distance from the others. It wasn't like him to disobey orders from his master, even if it's now a pink haired teenager.

"Home…" He mumbled under his breath. Even though he didn't need to, Cronoz rubbed his head, closing his lenses as he did so. When he opened them, he took a look at his hand. The 'runes' that he heard from the older teacher the other day. That's what he found. Marks. Lines. Dots. He did not know what they meant, the reason for his scratching of the head right after looking at his hand.

The sounds of a bell brought his head up. Ah. Lunch, he assumed. She was mad about that too. Apparently, his helping of her and final question made her miss breakfast. Of course, that's her mechanized familiar's fault. Who was else to blame? Herself?

Cronoz pushed those thoughts aside as he rose up. Students slowly began to emerge outside, ready to meet their familiars again. He peered through the crowd, trying to find his should-be-easy-to-find master. The mech could feel the stares of others as he slowly walked past the crowd. Maybe she left him. Would that be a good thing, or a bad thing?

A rattling on his leg got his attention. He looked down, somewhat unsurprised.

"There you are." Louise spat out. She was obviously still mad from earlier.

"Because, you know, I'm so hard to find…" Cronoz grunted quietly. The pinkette eyed him up.

"You say something?"

"No."

"Good. Let's go. I'm hungry." Louise turned to walk towards the school's dining room. Cronoz followed.

The room was indeed impressive. Long rowed tables filled to the brim with food. Cronoz couldn't believe how much food there was, even for a school this large and open. All he could think about was where all the table scraps went. He guessed the trash. What a waste.

"Well?" Louise's voice broke his thoughts. Again. _She has a knack for doing that._

The mech looked back and forth from her and the chair she stood in front of. _Seriously?_ Cronoz thought to himself as he grabbed the chair and moved it from under the table, letting his master sit down. He pushed it in as carefully as he could. "You're welcome." He added for good measure.

Rather then getting a verbal response, Louise pointed down on the ground. He looked in the direction, finding a small white plate with an even tinier piece of bread on it. Picking it up, his scans found it to be hard and raw. Food that shouldn't even be given to a dog. Or any animal for that manner.

"Query."

"Shush!" Louise silenced. Cronoz would have retorted, but decided to keep silent, finding that the students around him had all sat down and bowed their heads. A prayer. He only half-listened to it, still annoyed by the fact that this bread would be the only food a familiar would be given. What if, instead of himself, a human or some other sentient creature was given this sort of treatment? Now that is something Cronoz would want to watch.

As they finished, Louise turned her head around, finding her bulky familiar still staring at the food she so cordially gave him. "Are you going to eat?" She asked.

He eyed her as she did him. "Does it look like a have mouth?"

Carefully, he set the plate with bread on the ground from which it came, and began to walk back outside. He heard his master yell in protest.

"W-what! Get back here and… eat!" She stammered.

Without looking back, he stuck up his hand. "Don't need to. I'll be outside." The mech let his arm fall back to his side as he lumbered down the row of students feasting before him. He did not here any other complaints, so he assumed she gave up. As he passed the tables, he noticed that fluffy shirt wearing blonde sitting down, his arm draped around a girl with equally blonde hair, looking like she had drills in her hair. Hmm. What a player.

Unknowingly, Cronoz felt a tiny bump on his chest. He looked down to find someone on the floor. Oops. A closer inspection, thankfully, revealed it to be a familiar little maid.

"Siesta!" Cronoz spoke a little louder, a bit embarrassed for not seeing her. He knelt down. "I'm sorry, are you hurt?"

The black haired girl stared up into his face, her eyes looking on the verge of shutting. "Whoa… mister… your face is like… filled with circles. I… I think they sell a cream for that…" Probably hit her head a little too hard. Oops.

"Here. Let me help you up." The rusted machine stood up, and helped the girl to her feet, despite her swaying of dizziness. He looked down, finding a plate - luckily not shattered - with a piece of cake next to it. Delicately - or as delicate as a robot could - he plopped the pastry onto the tray and held it up for Siesta, who began to recover from her headache. He handed her the tray.

"Huh…?" Quickly realizing who it was and what he was holding, Siesta began to flush red. "S-sorry Cranass… I didn't watch where I was going…"

Cronoz stuck out his hand, ignoring the mispronunciation of his name. "It's alright. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"Heh…" Siesta rubbed the back of her head, still flushing red. Cronoz decided against it, but he would have chuckled. Humans can be so humorous sometimes, with the whole feeling emotions and everything.

A voice broke the two's awkward non-conversation. "Hey, maid! Is my cake ready, or what?" The snobbish voice sounded familiar. Siesta made a small 'yipe' as she quickly dashed to the kid who asked the rude question, leaving Cronoz to narrow his optics. The kid, unsurprisingly, was the boy from earlier. He sneered as he took the cake from Siesta. "Took you long enough, didn't you?"

Making a low growling sound, Cronoz took a single step towards the punk, but stopped. He thought of Louise, and how embarrassed she would get. It was bad enough to get her mad with a single comment, but what if he lashed out against another student? No. There had to be another way for the kid to get his just deserts - pun intended. No one can just order another with such a behavior and be let off easy. Cronoz turned around and left the dining room for a few minutes. He returned quickly, with another in tow. He pointed to the place where Siesta and the two blondes were.

"There. That guy asked me to fetch you… what's his name…" The mech lied awkwardly. Thankfully, it worked.

"You mean Guiche?" The brown haired girl named Katie replied. Odd. He thought her hair was black last night. His eyes must be failing him.

Cronoz nodded. "Yeah…him." He politely waved his hand, sending her towards him. Siesta noticed the girl walk up, and looked back towards the sender, who silently waved his finger, telling her 'get over here, its going to get messy.' She did so, bowing right before heading to her new friend.

"Watch." He whispered, chuckling quietly. Siesta nodded.

The scene that unfolded was one that can only be described as hilarious for most, embarrassing for three, and hurt filled with only one of said three. The girl named Katie, that Cronoz was lucky enough to find in the hallways to begin with, walked up to the boy dubbed Guiche, who immediately began to stammer and sweat. The spiral haired girl started to raise her voice, as did the brown haired one. The boy continued to spout excuses, growing a larger audience as he did so. All the while, Siesta and Cronoz chuckled quietly from the sidelines, enjoying the show, one of them feeling half guilty for doing this. Finally, the sound of two hands slamming simultaneously onto a face ignited laughter from the rest of the cafeteria.

Cronoz was pleased. "Good."

"Umm… what if he finds out we did it?" Siesta tapped his leg worriedly.

"Illogical. It would take him a long time to deduce that-"

"Hey! You two!"

With a sigh, Cronoz turned. He hated being wrong. Siesta hid behind his massive frame, watching the blonde haired boy storm his way up to them. He was brave, the mech had to admit. Not everyone would usually walk up to him with such gusto. Not even a flinch from this 'Guiche,' who stared at him angrily.

"Do you believe this to be funny? Insulting not only me, but two girls as well?"

Cronoz chuckled softly. "They can be forgiven."

"What? How dare you speak to me in such a manner!" Guiche roared.

Annoyed, Cronoz lurched down to become eye level with the mage. "Logical. You do not own me, nor control me. Therefore, I can speak to you in any matter I want."

"B-but I am a noble! You're just a familiar!" The boy stammered, trying to keep his pride even with the number of eyes growing on the two's feud.

"And? Do you know the definition of noble?" The mech retorted.

"Y-yes! Of course I do! It is a position of respect, nobility obviously!"

"True," Cronoz stuck out his finger, almost smacking Guiche to the ground. "But that is only in the sense of a noun. Another definition for noble. Having or showing qualities of high moral character. Examples. Courage, honor, generosity." He stretched the final word out and motioned towards Siesta, who still cowered behind him. "You have shown none of those characteristics in your treatment of Siesta here. And you dare call yourself noble."

Guiche stood silently for a minute, staring into the familiar's four white eyes. Then he smiled. "Oh! I get it now! Your Zero Louise's familiar! I remember now!"

Cronoz slanted his optics. "Do not change the subject. I know what you are trying to do. It will not work."

"Really now?"

The mech balled his hand into a fist. He really wanted to clobber this chump, maybe it would knock out his obnoxious personality. Then he heard a voice come from the crowd of people who watched them.

"Familiar! Don't you dare!" Cronoz looked behind Guiche's shoulder to find Louise cut through the crowd. "Your master orders you to stop!"

"But-" Cronoz began.

Louise ran past Guiche and glared at him. "No! No buts!" She turned to the blonde mage. "Please Guiche. He's just stupid. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

_Stupid? If anyone is stupid, it's him._ Cronoz thought to himself.

Guiche folded his arms. "It's just like you to get a familiar that doesn't want to listen to you. You truly are a Zero Louise!"

Giggles and chuckles spread throughout the gathered students. Cronoz felt his master go red in the face as she looked down in shame. He gently pushed both Siesta and Louise away from him and stood up. With his large hands, he picked up the mocking Guiche by the back of his clothes and stared at him angrily. "Leave Ms. Valliere out of this."

"U-unhand me!" Guiche squirmed in his grip.

"No."

"Familiar!" The machine looked down, to find Louise still standing in front of him, her face on the verge of exploding. "Put him down! That is an order!"

"…As you wish." Cronoz replied. He let go of his grip on Guiche, sending him straight to the ground. The mage fell on his backside, igniting more laughter from the crowd.

"H-h-how dare you treat me that way! You obviously need a lesson in respect!" Guiche stammered as he shakily stood back up.

"I understand the concept of respect. I will return it to those who truly deserve it." Cronoz unintentionally teased.

"Familiar!" Louise kept shouting. He ignored her. Must unlike of him. His attention was solely on the annoying mage in front of him.

"Well. I do believe some type of treatment is in order. I, Guiche de Gramont, hereby challenge you, familiar, to a duel!"

Cronoz blinked. He turned his head towards Louise and Siesta, who stood right next to each other, staring back at him.

"A what?" He asked in monotone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ah, chapter two… I COMPLETE YOU NOW!**

**Anyway, I know nothing really major happens in this chapter. I'm just kinda building up for the duel for number three. After that, I'm going to try and deter from the main plot of the show…maybe. We'll have to see… I tell that to myself every time I finish one of these. That's probably a bad thing, right? **

**Thanks for reading, review if you want, and…uh…bye?**


	3. Rust Beats Bronze?

_ZnT_ belongs to Noboru Yamaguchi and J.C. Staff. I own Cronoz.

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><p><span>Chapter 3: Rust Beats Bronze?<span>

Duel. A contest held with weapons arranged between two people in order to settle a dispute of honor.

_Joy._

Cronoz stood facing his much shorter opponent out in the middle of some place called Vestri Court, outside of the school building. Why they couldn't just face each other one-on-one in the dining hall, the mech had no idea. Something about it being inside the building, or the fact that he would have broken something inside. He honestly couldn't care less.

Louise had pleaded with him to just apologize to Guiche, and be let off with just a warning. And what? Let him, her, and possibly Siesta get walked over in the near future? He didn't think so.

He felt a cool breeze sweep past his armor. The grass under him bristled. The rusted machine ignored the gathered group that formed a large circle around them, including his before mentioned master and new friend. Cronoz cracked his iron knuckles and eyed the blonde mage who had begun to speak.

"This is your final warning, familiar. Back down now, and I'll let you off easy." Guiche spoke condescendingly.

Louise, who stood right next to her hulking servant, stared up at him. "Please. Just do what he says, and-"

Cronoz stuck up a finger. "But?" He waited for the catch.

"You have to admit that you and your master are both zeroes in your own right." Guiche smirked, letting the painful request sink in for both of them. Quiet giggles emerged from the crowd around them.

The mech didn't need to look down to know Louise was looking down, flushing red. He only know this girl for about a day and a half, yet he felt protective for her. Weird. Maybe it was because of that kiss from the day before. Cronoz took a step forward and stabbed a finger at Guiche. "No. This is between you and me. No one else."

The strawberry-blonde at his side looked up at him, wide eyed. Was her familiar actually… defending her?

"Very well. Let this duel commence!" The blonde mage shouted as he whipped his wand - which was for some reason a rose - out of his cloak and whipped it around, letting a single petal fall to the ground. As it touched the ground, the red petal ignited a bright light, and before Cronoz knew it, a new figure came up from under the ground. It was slightly taller then the students, but it still didn't even come close to the mech. Turquoise armor covered it from head to toe, save for the white garment below its waist. Tiny white wings stuck out of its helmet for decoration. In its right hand it held a spear, its left being one huge fist. Interesting design, to say the least.

"As Guiche the Bronze, my Bronze Golem servant shall be your opponent." He chuckled.

Cronoz let out a mechanical sigh. "Disappointing."

Guiche was outraged. "What! You dare mock my Valkyrie and its power!"

The rusty familiar shook its head. "No. Its just sad that you need assistance to fight me."

"Insolent little-"

"I'm little now?"

The mage stamped his foot on the ground. "Enough! Valkyrie!"

The Bronze Golem nodded its head and quickly charged toward Cronoz, its fist raised ready to deal damage. It collided with its target's chest, making the distinct _DING_ sound of metal hitting metal. Unfortunately, as the Valkyrie soon learned, its attack was fruitless. Cronoz barely moved an inch from the impact, and locked eyes with the small golem in front of him.

Without saying a word, he raised his left arm. However, he didn't send it down immediately. Rather, his arm begin to shift and change just as he did earlier that morning. As gears spun and clicked, his metal fingers parted and receded into his arm, letting a larger piece of metal come out. From the bottom of his arm came another large iron piece, letting the students around him stare at what his hand transformed into: A claw.

Cronoz grabbed the Valkrie's right shoulder with his free hand and twisted him around, bringing it to its knees. It stared at Guiche, who helplessly stared back. With his newly formed claw, Cronoz gripped his armored attacker by the head. He ruthlessly squeezed down, crushing the bronze servant's noggin and letting the rest of it to fall to the ground. As it decomposed, Cronoz clanged his claws together and stared at Guiche.

"Over already?" Cronoz would have smirked, but - again - no mouth.

Guiche smirked, but the mech could sense a little bit of worry in his voice. "Not by a long shot!" He flung his rose back and forth, releasing four more petals. Each one touched the ground, resulting in four brand new Valkyries forming. Three held spears, one a broad axe. Cronoz sighed and stuck out his right arm, holding it up for all to see. Just as before, his arm began to transform, his fingers recoiling and sliding back. But rather than another iron claw forming, something else emerged. Large round cylinders spun round and round, passing other gears and circuits. The end result was medium ranged weapon none of the students had ever seen before. In his world, people knew it as a minigun.

Cronoz quickly moved his arm, checking the ammo for the cannon. Hearing the distinct _CLICK_, the rusted machine moved his arm until it was lined up with the Bronze Golems in front of him. With a 'go!' from Guiche, the turquoise warriors shot toward Cronoz, unknowingly becoming easy targets for the mech. As the four closed in on him, Cronoz whispered to himself 'Firing,' before letting his audience see the power behind his newly formed weapon.

The gun didn't fire right away. Rather, it charged up by circling a few times before letting Hell loose from its barrel. Thousands of rounds came forth, faster than any falling star or magic spell being cast. The noise rang out in everyone's ears, resulting in many of them clamping their hands on their hands. The shots fired tore up the incoming Valkyries, stopping them dead in their tracks. Their armor was no match for the power of modern weaponry, giving a sense of pride in Cronoz. The power felt odd to him, though. Like he was able to shoot faster, easier, and more precise then he usually could. Maybe it had to do with the tiny shimmering light that came from his arm, where his hand lay dormant inside. The hand with the runes on it. _Can that be it?_ Cronoz thought to himself.

The warriors collapsed, dissolving back into the ground as their reaper slowed his weapon, letting it fall to his side. The bullet casings littered the ground, and were in such a large quantity that it would be worthless to even try to count them.

"Two for two. Are you ready to concede?" Cronoz asked in his monotone voice.

The response was the formation of six more soldiers, all fully armed with an assortment of weapons. Cronoz cocked his massive gun. It was time to end this feud. Now.

He began to stomp over towards Guiche, the golems being the only things in-between the two duelers. As the first two Valkyries advanced on him, he lifted his minigun and unloaded into their armor, dismantling them quickly. Two more came at him, weapons glittering in the shine of the sun. The mech dodged the one coming at his left by turning around, letting the golem fall past him. With his claw, he grabbed the surprised warrior and turned to threw it at the incoming one. They slammed into one another and collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

Cronoz rotated his shoulders for a second, trying to relieve some tension before the final duo came at him. However, he felt a sharp pain in his back and side. He failed to notice during his break the spears that were now lodged into his metal armor. Some gasps came from the crowd, two of them being his master and his new friend. The Valkyries appeared before him, their fists raised ready and waiting. Guiche laughed.

"How does that feel?" He mocked.

The rusty titan did not respond. Even if it did his answer would be 'what feeling?' Instead, he reached behind him with his claw and snapped the spear sticking out. He easily did the same to the one on his side. _Did he really think that would stop me? These mages are dumber than I thought…_ The mech crushed the sticks into splinters as he made his way to Guiche, transforming his arms back to their normal forms. As his hands became visible, Cronoz took a quick glance at his right hand. The lines etched on there were indeed glowing. Huh. Maybe he'll ask Louise about that after he finishes this punk with the fluffy shirt.

Forming his hands into fists, Cronoz quickly charged at the golems between him and his goal. They came at him, fists extended. Before they could make contact, Cronoz purposefully fell, using his speed and momentum to roll his rusty body into his attackers. He couldn't see it, but his tremendous force knocked the two final Valkyries into the air, throwing them as if they were little scraps of paper. When he eventually stopped, - luckily landing upright - Cronoz stood up from his position, and chuckled. Laying before him, his arms tightly wrapped around him, was Guiche, shaking like a scared puppy. Cronoz kneeled down, still towering over the whimpering mage.

"Are we done now?" He asked. He knew the answer even before the boy stammered it out.

"Y-y-y-yes! You win! You win!" Guiche cried, waving his hands back and forth. "P-please, just don't h-hurt me!"

Cronoz chuckle. "We'll see."

With that, he picked up Guiche, letting the student jerk around in his grip. He backed up a bit, dispersing the crowd as he did so, trying to find something. Behind him he heard 'What are you doing, familiar?,' but he ignored it. Finally, the mech found what he was looking for: a flagpole sticking straight out of the largest tower in the center of the school. Finding that, he did the most surprising thing the group around him thought possible: The rusty robotic familiar heaved poor ol' Guiche into the air above him. The distance was phenomenal; it gave everyone time to look up at the earth mage flinging his arms up and down like a madman. And enough time for Cronoz to walk over to Louise and Siesta, both of them staring at him intently.

"W-what did you do that for!" Louise shouted.

Cronoz eyed her. "I'm not done yet," He kneeled over beside the two, motioning them. "Get on."

The maid and the mage exchanged looks, wondering what he was going to do. Siesta happily bounded up to the machine and clamped her arms around his head. Louise followed suit, but not before giving the both of them a death glare. With both girls on his shoulders, Cronoz stood up and pressed a button on his arm. His two riders turned their heads at the sound of more gears and inner machinery working about. Out from under his back armor sprouted two rather large garbage can shaped pieces of metal. Cronoz chuckled and pressed another button. "Better hold on."

The iron ovals ignited, a burst of energy and heat come out. It propelled the machine up into the air, followed by a trail of smoke coming from the twin engines. Of course, the two riding on his shoulder had no idea what they were or how they worked. They were too busy focusing on not falling off.

"Ohmyohmyohmyohmyohmy!" Siesta kept repeating, her grip tightening on the machines head.

"Whatever you're doing, can you it slower!" Louise shouted over the noise of the rocket powered engines. Cronoz nodded and pressed another button. The bursts of fire coming from his backside cooled down, giving off enough power to let him hover in the air. Siesta made a happy 'wow' as she looked down at the Academy from such a high height. Louise, on the other hand, was more reluctant to enjoy the view, her multiple gulps making it apparent. Cronoz chuckled.

"S-shut up!" Louise turned away, blushing. His master's attitude was starting to get cute more and more to Cronoz. He didn't know why. "Wait… where's Guiche?"

"He should be dropping by in about… now, actually." Cronoz stuck out his hands. In less than no time at all, the crying cloaked body of Guiche de Gramont flopped into his grasp. Still trembling, he looked up and gawked at Cronoz, who stared right back with his four bright eyes.

"H-h-hi?" Guiche innocently waved.

Cronoz lowered his still hovering body closer to the stone tower with the flagpole. With one hand, he gripped Guiche and stuck him on it, being careful not to damage his clothes. Siesta tried to contain her giggle as Guiche stared down and almost began to cry. Louise said nothing, just stared back and forth from her familiar to the earth mage. Cronoz loomed over to stare directly into Guice's fear stricken face.

"Apologize. _Now_." He ordered.

Guiche quickly looked at Louise and cupped his hands. "I'm sorry Louise! So very sorry!"

Then he turned to Siesta, and repeated the gesture. "I'm sorry maid! Please forgive me!"

Cronoz nodded in approval. "Good." He began to slowly lower down, letting the flagpole with its new 'flag' waver about. The mech could hear shouting from above him.

"A-aren't you going to let m-me down?"

"When your punishment is over." Cronoz retorted back.

As his decent brought him and his passengers closer and closer back to the school grounds, - solid ground, for that matter - Siesta tapped Cronoz's horned head, making a tiny _TING_ sound with every pat.

"You are going to let him down, right?" The maid curiously questioned the titan she rode upon. Cronoz only chuckled.

"When his punishment is over."

Louise huffed on his other shoulder. He turned his head, finding her arms folded and her head turned away. "Are you unimpressed by my power?" He asked in monotone.

She returned the answer in the form of an ear busting shout. "O-of course not! I… I knew you would be powerful the moment I summoned you! I felt it in my… gut…" She trailed off looking away from him, blushing again.

"My scans detect that you are lying, Louise." Cronoz stated, earning a chuckle from Siesta.

"S-shut up!"

* * *

><p>Of course, sticking a student on a flagpole hundreds of feet in the air wasn't exactly an activity that the academy found acceptable. So, after landing and dropping off Siesta, Cronoz and his master were hastily cast to the principal's office, high in the same building the mech left Guiche dangling. Sadly, when they were walking up the spiral staircase, Cronoz was unable to see the mage from any of the windows. A shame, to say the least.<p>

The two now sat in front of the desk of said principal, an old man with a long white beard and hair, along with a complimenting black robe. Two others stood to his left and right, one of which he remembered as the teacher when he first arrived. The other was a green haired woman with glasses. Probably a secretary, Cronoz deduced. The elderly principal put down his strangely shaped pipe and began to speak.

"So, familiar of Louise, do you realize what you have done?" The man half chuckled. Cronoz couldn't take him serious when he had read so many works of fictions with - for lack of a better word - stereotypical mages such as himself. The mech shook his head.

"A lesson in discipline." He stated blandly. The machine could literally feel the stare Louise shot him

The bald man next to him cut in. "You left a student stranded in the air high above the school grounds. You could have killed him!"

Cronoz waged his finger about. "Illogical. _Someone_ would have caught him. Besides, he deserved it."

"In what way?" The man he remembered being named Colbert folded his arms.

"He treated a friend wrongly." Cronoz repeated the gesture, making Colbert scowl.

Louise rapped his leg. "What do you mean, friend? You don't mean that maid, do you?"

Cronoz shot her a four-eyed stare. "Even if she is a maid, she is still a human being," He turned to the principal. "Isn't compassion one of human's strong suits? Or must I reassess my databanks?"

His cold remark killed the sound in the room. No sound came from anyone for a moment, until the principal began to chuckle aloud, catching everyone off guard.

"You are smart, familiar of Louise," The principal reached for his pipe, but was unable to retrieve it. His secretary flung her wand about, making the item fly through the air and land on top of a bookcase in the room. The principal scrunched up his nose, but turned back to the mech in front of him. "I am Old Osmond, elder of this prestigious school."

"Cronoz." The rusted machine replied, nodding.

Osmond blinked. "Cro…noooozz?"

The mech sighed. "Cronoz."

The principal chuckled. "I apologize, friend. I am not as young and attentive as I used to be," _Really? No kidding. _Cronoz thought to himself. "It's just -"

"An unusual name?" The mech finished.

"Familiar!" Louise shouted at him, getting him to give her a 'what?' kind of stare.

Osmond held up his hand. "It is alright, Ms. Valliere. If it is alright with you, familiar, I would like to understand where you came from before arriving here at this humble school."

_Humble? Yeah, sure. _"I would love too," Cronoz stated, but stuck up a finger. "But not tonight. I would like to recharge if you don't mind." He looked down at Louise, who stared back at him with wide pink eyes. "And I do believe my master has a job or two for me to accomplish."

Colbert was about to interject, but was stopped when Osmond nodded. "Very well. Tomorrow then."

The mech nodded, glancing at both Colbert and the secretary for a second before plodding towards the door. He opened it and stood by it, waiting for his master to come. Louise looked at him, then back at her superiors. She bowed and walked out of the room, followed by her rusted companion who shot the principal a glance as he leaned down to exit the room.

"Night." He said before shutting the door behind him.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you! W-what were you thinking! Everything you've done today has been unacceptable!"<p>

Cronoz listened to his master rant and rave, squatting next to her bed as she paced back and forth in front of him. He didn't understand why she was so upset.

"First, you go ahead and accept that brain-dead Guiche's challenge-"

"And win."

"Then you go and leave him up on a flagpole high above the ground-"

"Logical."

"And finally you have the nerve to talk back to my superiors, my teachers, in a manor no one ever would!"

"And? Did I not defend you? Like a familiar should?"

Louise did not respond. All she did was stare at him for a good minute before quietly walking toward her dresser. Cronoz was about to ask her if she needed help, but decided against it. The strawberry-blonde said nothing as she undressed and draped her nightgown over herself. She laid her worn clothes on the round table and slowly crept into bed. Cronoz looked at her, then back at the clothes. He reached for them, but was stopped by a voice.

"That's not necessary for tonight, familiar." Louise said as she turned over her pillow. "You can do it in the morning."

Cronoz took his hand back. Guess his words finally got to her. Slight superiority crept into his mind. The light from the candle in the middle of the room went out, leaving the mech in the darkness, with the moon the only light.

He tapped the side of the bed gently with his index finger. "Query."

"Yes… you may sleep inside tonight." Louise answered half asleep.

Cronoz blinked his optics. "How did you…"

"Like you said. You defended me today against Guiche… and your fighting skills aren't half bad," She rolled around to stare, her hair flying around. "Credit is most certainly due, familiar." She smirked before rolling over again.

The mech blinked again. Such kindness. He really was liking this world he fell into. Cronoz shut his optics, forgetting to transform into his secondary form. He slunk down the wall, until he lay right next to the bed, his head resting on the bed's side frame. It wasn't really comfortable, but he didn't mind. He felt right being by Louise's side. Odd.

He quietly muttered, 'Good night, Miss Valliere,' before silently turning off.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ugh…school is such a killer. But I will go on! **

**Chapter three, the Guiche fight. I honestly had fun righting this one because A.) I'm not a huge fan of the blonde dude and B.) It let me demonstrate Cronoz's power. And yes, he has a claw. Don't judge me. He's based off a crab. Kinda. Sorta. Mer.**

**Umm… I don't know what else to right, so thanks for reading, review pwease, and have a gun-totting around day!**

**P.S. You know how funny it would be if fan fictions ended like anime's do? With a short preview about what the next episode is? That would be so cool! But I'm not gonna do that, cuz I'm already on number three. Maybe I'll go back and do it if you guys would like that kind of thing.**


	4. Not Designed For That Purpose

_ZnT_ belongs to Noboru Yamaguchi and J.C. Staff. I own Cronoz.

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><p><span>Chapter 4: Not Designed For That Purpose<span>

Outside the Academy, light glinted off of the non-rusted parts of Cronoz's armor. He watched right next to the gates of the school as his master rode off down the dirt road on her stallion. As her pink-haired figure vanished out of view, the mech brought up his arm and looked at the tiny slip of paper he clutched in his metal palm. He remembered the distinct conversation prior to his acquirement of said slip of paper that morning.

"_I am leaving the academy for a day or two to run some errands on my own. I have prepared a list of jobs I would like you to accomplish for me before I return, familiar."_

"_Query."_

"_Yes?"_

"_Wouldn't it be more beneficial for me to come with you? After all, isn't the job of being a 'familiar' standing by their master's side?"_

"_I am going into the town nearest here. It's full of people. And I'm pretty sure bringing a… a… whatever you are into town would cause quite the commotion."_

"_Haven't I told you already? I'm an autonomous machine of the steam punk variation."_

"_Yeah, uh-huh. And I'm an elf."_

"_Of course you're not. That should be obvious, even for your standards of logic."_

"_Ugh… just take the list, familiar."_

"_Fine, but can I at least escort you to your destination? I'm much faster than any horse, and I actually would like to see a place outside the - wait, where'd you go? Louise? Louise!"_

And that's where Cronoz found himself, staring out into the uncharted territory he would rather not explore alone, despite his intelligence and power. He was in a new world, so he had no idea how things worked around here. Sighing, he stomped away from the gate, holding the list of chores tightly in his grasp.

After reading the extensive list… twice, Cronoz rubbed his optics. Of course, his master held nothing back, even after his extravagant display the day before. He looked up at the main tower, hoping to find his handiwork still flailing around. Unfortunately, there was no Guiche to be found. Cronoz sighed again. The one ounce of joy taken away from him, like a baby stripped of his favorite blanket. Except for being with Louise…

Cronoz shook his head. There was no time for such distracting thoughts. He had a duty to fulfill, even if it would be as remedial as washing clothes or cleaning a room.

_Huh… I'm really buying into this whole 'familiar' business, aren't I? Maybe I'm malfunctioning._ Cronoz flicked his head with his finger, a _TING_ the obvious result. A group of students passed by him, to which he ignored their stares. He entered the open hallway that led to the dorms and preceded to find Louise's room. At least in this place - for as large as it was - he was able to get around. Thankfully, when he found the room, it was unlocked for him to crouch into. However, that wasn't what surprised Cronoz most. It was the figure that stood in the middle of the room. Luckily for him, it was the only other person that knew him. Well… knew him well.

"Siesta!" The mech said aloud, scaring the maid into falling over.

"Oh! Cronoz! You scared me. I thought it might have been Ms. Valliere," The maid giggled as she stood up and dusted herself off. "This is her room, right?"

Cronoz nodded. "Yes, this is Louise's room. She left just a little while ago to run some errands on her own."

"And she didn't bring you along? How odd."

"That's exactly what I said."

"I wonder what she's up to…" Siesta folded her arms and sighed. It was then Cronoz realized a difference between her and his master. A… physical difference, but a difference nonetheless. He shook his head. _Bad Cronoz. Bad._

"By the way, what exactly are you doing in here anyway?" The mech asked in monotone.

"Oh well… I wanted to check and see if you were alright from your fight the other day. And the door was unlocked, so I just kinda… came in…" Siesta defended, blushing as she did so.

The mech chuckled. "Your concern is welcome, Siesta. And actually, I'm glad you're here."

"Huh?"

* * *

><p><em>Odd. I feel like I've been in this position before.<em>

Cronoz thought to himself as he carried both a garbage can and a basket full of laundry. He didn't see why Louise wanted her room cleaned to begin with. It was pretty much spotless from what he had seen. He did not question it though. Of course the top of her list was _Do laundry_, that at least didn't surprise him.

He rounded the corner, finding Siesta by the well, cleaning her own basket of clothes. The mech plodded over to her, and set the basket on the ground next to her. The maid gave him a warm smile. Did she really… naw, that can't be right.

"Um…" Cronoz looked around. "Is there a place for garbage disposal anywhere?"

"Hmm. I think its past the court yard," Siesta shrugged. "I might not be positive. I'm the cleaning type of maid, not the pick-up-the-trash-and-throw-it-away type."

"But isn't that what maids - forget it. I'll find it." Cronoz turned around, carrying the garbage can along with him. For how clean her room was, he was able to find some things to pick up. He cleaned out her work dresser in the hopes of finding something sustainable, resulting in the finding of a few intriguing things. Of course, he knew he had been invading not only a girl's privacy, but also his master's.

Turning a corner, and finally out of sight of his friend washing clothes, Cronoz sat the aluminum can down. He pressed a button on his arm and a compartment opened from his chest, revealing a purple book tucked away. Carefully, he picked it up, closed his chest up, and flipped through the pages of the book. Luckily for him, when searching through Louise's room, there was a book for the language of this world for him to use. It took him a while, but Cronoz eventually was able to understand it, and saved it to a file in his memory.

The title of said book read 'Diary,' that he was assure of. The mech did not feel good about himself right now. However, since he had no connection with the school's library, or any place outside the Academy's grounds, he would have to stoop very low to gain knowledge, even if was solely the life of pink-haired teenage mage.

Sitting down, Cronoz began reading an excerpt from the private book.

_Dear Diary, while my new familiar is out completing the simple task of washing my clothes, I have decided to write about my first meeting with him._

"Yeah… 'simple.'" Cronoz muttered. He kept reading.

_It seemed so odd. That wretched Zerbst summoned a fire-breathing salamander, and Tabitha, quiet calm Tabitha, summoned a magnificent blue dragon. How does that even happen?_

"Actually, I would love to know too…"

_After I did my own version of the summoning rights, this huge… thing, appeared before me. This… metal beast covered in rust, with a four-eyed head. Four eyes! What kind of monster is this!_

"Monster? Really…"

_After I finished the last summoning rights, the thing became my familiar. Upon entering my room, I figured out that it could not understand me, so I preformed a spell so it could do so. Surprisingly, it worked well, if I do say so myself._

"Yeah, almost tore me apart in the process."

_My new familiar told me his name, something weird, like Cronaz or Kranoz. Something otherworldly, I think. I've never heard a stranger name. I will ignore it though, for if he is truly going to be my servant for the rest of my life, I might as well get used to it._

"Uh-huh… wait, what?" Cronoz's optics almost burst out of his head, as he re-read the last sentence again. And again. And again. And again.

"What does she mean, 'for the rest of my life?'" Cronoz disdainfully muttered aloud. He sat up from his seat on the ground and turned the corner, only to be met with a surprise. He bumped into something, something larger, larger than him. He looked up, finding a green eyed, horned blue head staring right back. Cronoz stepped back, clumsily tripping over his own feet and falling. For the first time in his life, the mech had never felt so flustered. He had seen the dragon before in the courtyard, but that was from much further away. Now it was right there, in reach, touching distance.

Cronoz held his arms up in defense, expecting the worse. Then he heard a voice come from behind the creature. "No eating. You'd get a tummy ache."

He heard the creature make a strange purring sound, and lowered his arms. Emerging from behind the dragon was a blue haired girl, dressed in the same fashion as Louise. Unlike his master, she wore glasses and carried a staff, probably replacing the wands most other students used. Cronoz thought he had seen her before, once when he first arrived, and again during his duel with Guiche. The two stared at each other for a moment before the girl noticed the book in the mech's hand.

"What are you reading?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"What?" Cronoz looked at his hand. "Oh… uh…" Quickly, but clumsily, he forced the book back into his compartment, as a means not to be found creepy for reading his master's diary. "N-nothing. I was finished."

The blue haired girl stared at him for a second before sitting down right next to him and began reading her own book, not fazed by the machine's presence. Cronoz gathered his own composure and sat up right, still eyeing the girl.

"I've seen you before. Who are you?" Cronoz blatantly asked.

"Tabitha." The girl responded without looking up from her text.

_She's an odd one._ The mech cocked his head. "And that creature there? It's your familiar?"

"Sylphid."

"Right…" Cronoz looked at the sapphire dragon, who had laid down right next to its master, its head resting on the soft green grass. It looked at the rusty machine with lazy eyes, looking like it would fall asleep in seconds.

"Louise's familiar." A jolt shot through Cronoz's body. The girl was so quiet he had never thought she was going to say anything to him.

"Yes?"

"Come." As quickly as she had sat down, this girl, Tabitha, stood up and motioned him with her staff. Feeling a bit hot under the collar, - he'd never been asked for a girl to follow him as sternly as Tabitha - Cronoz waved a hand.

"Actually, Louise had a list of chores for me to accomplish, and I think Siesta is waiting-"

"Then why were you reading her diary?"

_Damn…_ "Uh… um…"

"Come."

"Right…"

The mech stood up, his head lowered in shame. As he walked behind Tabitha, Sylphid - still lying on the ground - opens an eye and makes a noise akin to a chuckle. Cronoz narrowed his optics. "Shut up."

* * *

><p>Cronoz was indeed pleased now. He had no idea where Tabitha would have taken him. Now he stood in a large library, filled up with enough books to last him more than a lifetime. Maybe two or three. Of course, the people in the library were surprised watching a second year student bring in a massive bipedal machine, but hey, what were they going to do about it? They knew his power, so in either respect or fear, they said nothing. Huh. The mech felt like an evil villain for a second. He looked down at Tabitha, who looked right back at him.<p>

"How did you know?" Cronoz asked.

"Easy. You looked the type," Tabitha retorted, not really answering the question. "Also, Louise told me."

"When?"

"Before you fought Guiche."

"Ah." He stared up at the open room, and was genuinely impressed. Even the city he had come from did not have a library this wonderful. Or large. Giddy as any of the school girls at the Academy, Cronoz quickly went from bookshelf to bookshelf, grabbing multiple books in his large mechanical arms. Tabitha walked over to the staring librarian, who stood behind the counter in awe.

"Let him check out any books he wants." Tabitha quietly states.

"R-right…" The librarian answered, ignoring the fact that familiars shouldn't be able to check out books. But he heard about the machine's duel. Whatever that rotating thing the creature kept in his arm was, he surly didn't want it aimed at him.

Meanwhile, Cronoz continued to peer and search all over the library, finding as much information as he possibly could. Among the stories he had found, the mech was interested one that talked of airships, and another on how to create explosives out of powders. _Well… just in case._ Cronoz thought to himself about the second piece of literature. Eventually, he had accumulated about nineteen books, all clutched around his rusted metal arms. He decided to pick out one other, just to make it even. With his bright white eyes, he scanned the titles of the last bookshelf, finding nothing of interest. Except one book, tucked away at the top.

He plucked the rather dusty textbook and wiped it with his hand. It must have been old, its original orange demeanor worn out to a light brown. Cronoz read the title of the book to himself.

"Machines: The Way of the Future…?"

The mech immediately clambered over to the main desk of the room, and carefully sat his final book down. The others he just plopped down, forgetting entirely about them for the time being. His focus was intently toward the new book, and the secrets it held. Cronoz was so excited he didn't notice the repetitive taping on his leg. He looked down to find his blue haired host.

"Done?" She stared back.

"Y-yes. I'm done now."

"Good. Let's go."

Tabitha left the library in the same fashion as she entered: quietly and calmly, with Cronoz not far behind. Except now he lugged a large bundle of books, resulting in one of the most odd images. Period. The two returned to the courtyard, or at least Cronoz thought it was the courtyard. The books covered his vision, only able to see slightly above it. And that wasn't very helpful: The sky isn't exactly a great compass when it has a bunch of clouds in it.

"Uh… Tabitha?" Cronoz tried to find his shorter companion.

"Hm." Was the answer.

_OK, at least I know she's in front of me. _"I… can't exactly see. So can you be my eyes for-"

Before he could get anymore words out, Cronoz felt him tripping over something, causing the mech to wobble about. Books began to fall out of his grasp, one even opening and falling onto his face, blinding him entirely. Unable to keep his balance, he fell collapsed unto the soft grass below, making a large _CRASH_ due to his mechanical build. He could feel the hard covers of the… well… hard cover books all under his large frame, but he didn't care. Cronoz was to preoccupied fumbling his fingers about, trying to get them to achieve the goal of getting rid of the book obscuring his vision.

_Wow… that was loud._ Cronoz thought to himself as he removed the book from his face. Blinking his optics, he found a welcome sight: Tabitha, standing right next to him. She leaned over and picked up a book - the last one he picked out - and placed it on his chest.

"Uh… Thanks." Cronoz complimented. He continued to lay down, pressing the button on his arm to open the compartment in his upper torso, letting the book fall right next to the diary, which earned a stare from Tabitha. Cronoz was about to explain himself, but then heard a voice from behind him.

"Cronoz!" He turned his head right in time to watch Siesta wrap her arms around his head. "Where have you been? I was looking everywhere for you! Did you get hurt? I heard a crash!"

"Uh… I was…" Cronoz stuttered, trying to process all the confusion going around him, even though there wasn't a lot of it.

"He was with me." Tabitha spoke almost in a whisper, making Siesta cock her head to the left.

"What?" Siesta looked into Cronoz's confused eyes. "What were you doing with her? I thought you were going to help me finish Ms. Valliere chores? I even finished her laundry for you!" Cronoz now recognized his master's clothes, which were placed onto his mechanical stomach by the black haired maid.

"Uh… well…"

"And what's that purple thing in your chest?"

"N-nothing!"

"Louise's diary."

"T-Tabitha!"

"My what!"

"Not now Louise…"

Cronoz paused for a second. _Louise?_ To the mech's displeasure, as he turned his head around from Siesta and Tabitha, there stood his pink-haired master, her eyes set on him. And she was not happy. Not. One. Bit.

"L-L-Louise! W-w-what are you doing here? I th-th-thought you went-"

Louise stuck out her hand for silence. "I came back because I finished my jobs more faster than I thought. But, here I found you," She motioned to the area around the sitting robot. "Sitting on your lazy butt, surrounded by not only books, but Tabitha and the maid too! And you took my diary from my room, without any permission at all!"

"You wouldn't have let me anyway…" Cronoz mumbled to himself.

"What was that! Don't whisper to yourself when your master is talking to you!" Louise sighed. "At least you were able to get my laundry done… you've at least finished the rest of my list haven't you?"

"Um-"

"Actually, I finished your laundry while Cronoz was out with Ms. Tabitha." Siesta wagged a finger triumphantly.

"S-Siesta!" Cronoz tried to hush her, but failed miserably.

"What!" You couldn't even finish the jobs I assigned you!" Louise was on the verge of a cataclysmic meltdown.

"In hindsight, I truly thought you were going to be gone longer." Cronoz whimpered in monotone.

Before he could even adjust his misspoken speech, both Tabitha and Siesta had left to avoid the blast range of the spell from the wand that was directly pointed at the rusted mech by Louise. "WHAT?"

Only one thought raced threw Cronoz's mind:

_Idiot._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Do you want a BOOM with that side order of 'oops?'**

**Yay! Chapter Four, completed. I honestly am glad I'm done with this one, because it mostly turned into filler unfortunately, leading up for the next chapters to come. If anything, it establishes (kinda?) Cronoz and Tabitha's relationship as characters. Next will be better, now that I'm going to go into the Fouquet arc. That's how you spell her name, right?**

**Reviews are appreciated, and thanks for reading!**


	5. Retracing One's Thoughts

_ZnT_ belongs to Noboru Yamaguchi and J.C. Staff. I own Cronoz.

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><p><span>Chapter 5: Retracing One's Thoughts<span>

With a metallic moan, Cronoz rubbed his head, the pain from explosion two days ago still present. He lay squatted and alone in his master's room, bored out of his impressively large mind. Or memory bank. At this point in his life, the mech didn't even care. He was too distracted by the multiple dents in his armor.

_Louise sure left a number on me…_ The mechanical familiar sighed.

After the explosion, almost tearing the rusty machine apart, Louise spent an hour yelling at him, telling him how he was much more akin to a dog than a steam powered robot. Of course, she didn't say that exactly, she just screamed 'thing.' She left him in her room after that, forbidding the mech to leave the room. And if he did… Cronoz just assumed the consequences would be exactly the same as the last time: Explosive.

Louise was now at one of her classes, though she didn't tell him which one, or how long she would be until she came back. Cronoz was just lucky she let him come back to her room. He scanned the room, looking to see if there was anything remotely interesting to do. All of his master's clothes were washed and put away, the room was spotless, and Cronoz didn't exactly know how to cook or knit. Louise had been incredibly harsh, returning every single one of the books Tabitha let him borrow from the library.

With a sigh, the rusty mech decided to look at Louise's own personal bookshelf. He slowly and carefully moved - shuffled, was more like it - over to the wooden piece of furniture and scanned the spines of the novels placed there. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything he was mildly interested in. Nothing on airships or bombs mixed from powdered ingredients. And even though the history of the academy seemed interesting…

"Wait…" Cronoz mumbled to himself. "Wasn't I supposed to do something with that old geyser the other day?"

The mech scratched his head, as if to jog his memory. It was only about five minutes later of meditative thinking did Cronoz remember what he was supposed to do. "I was supposed to meet with that Old… uh… what was his name again?"

Again, he spent another five minutes thinking before he came to the conclusion that his name must have been Old Dumblegalf, or something along those lines. He didn't care. All the rusted machine could think about was the idea of actually _doing _something this day.

Cronoz did his careful shuffle maneuver over to the door and began to transform his right index finger into a tiny picklock, seeing that if he tried to unlock the door with his huge fingers the door would probably collapse or something. As he began to stick his newly formed finger into the door handle, he stopped. The door handle began to shake and turn, and, before he could duck-waddle back to his corner, the door swung open. Cronoz made eye contact in seconds, and immediately regretted it.

_How are huge pink eyes so intimidating? _Cronoz thought to himself.

Indeed, before him stood Louise, his pink haired master. Her arms had already crossed, and her brow was already furrowed.

"And where, exactly, did you think you were going, familiar?" Louise asked, annoyed.

Cronoz paused, contemplating whether or not he should tell her the truth or say something witty.

_I'm in trouble already…_

* * *

><p>While climbing the spiral staircase up to the principal's room, Cronoz rubbed his head. He could feel it going numb, he was eighty-seven percent positive. Of course, now he knew that jokes weren't his strong suit, and he should have known saying something like 'flirting with that busty redhead' wasn't exactly the smartest thing to say around Louise.<p>

_I swear, I think I'm becoming more human everyday I live in this world. _The mech thought to himself.

His shorter master interrupted his thoughts without turning around. "So, is there a reason why you wanted to talk to Old Osmond?"

"Replying. The day I spoke to him, I said I would explain to him where I came from before I came to your world." Cronoz said.

"I see," Louise turned around and eyed her familiar. "You never did tell me where you came from either."

"Odd. Must have slipped my mind." Cronoz replied with slight coyness in his voice.

"Hmph. Whatever," Louise returned to stepping up the stairs. "You will explain your story eventually anyway."

The two awkward companions kept silent until they arrived at the old wizard's office. The green haired secretary opened the door for them, her name also slipped from Cronoz's memory. She walked out of the room after the two walked in. As expected, the elderly Osmond greeted them with a wave of the hand and asked them to sit in front of him. Louise sat down on one of the guest chairs, whereas Cronoz carefully seated himself on the ground, respectfully moving the other comfy armchair away.

"I'm glad you came by, Louise and… Louise's familiar." Osmond scratched his chin and picked up his pipe.

Cronoz lifted a finger. "Cronoz. And, if you don't mind me saying so sir, but those things are very… um…" He was going to continue, but he could feel Louise's glared on him after the second he uttered the word 'and.' Cronoz took back his finger while quietly muttering 'never mind.'

"Er… anyway, Cronoz," Osmond set down his pipe. "Why don't you tell me where you came from? And possibly what you did as well."

The mech nodded its four eyed head. "Acknowledged. I will try to explain to the best of my ability the events that occurred precisely thirty minutes before I presumably arrived in your world." He turned his head to Louise, as if to ask for her approval. She nodded, and Cronoz began.

* * *

><p>It was dark out. The moon shined down upon the abandoned docks where the great metal mech stood at. The gleam of the moonlight half reflected from his armor, half hid from it, depending on where the rust was arranged on his metal skin. He rotated his head around, searching for any sort of movement at the nightmarishly creepy boat yard.<p>

He was Cronoz, and he was searching for a mad man.

Well, technically it was a mad teenager, but to him it didn't really matter. He never liked taking these kind of jobs when his creator asked him to do them. Cronoz wasn't sure why. He just disliked chasing down criminals, since that was a job for the authorities. Or bounty hunters. He didn't trust them either. Their type of scum wasn't needed. But that was for another day.

He felt a rapping on his lower leg. Cronoz looked down to find his white haired companion. She wore a black dress (however she fought in it so well, Cronoz will never understand) with a red cross on the front, with golden brown lacing tying it all up. Her white hair seemed to radiate under the moonlight, like she was some celestial being. She carried with her a great long pistol, another odd choice as far as weapons go. Cronoz did not question it.

"Find anything, big guy?" She asked him.

"Negative," He replied in monotone. "Mariana, I do not believe anything is here. Human or otherwise."

Mariana looked out into the abandoned boat docks. "That's the scary thing, Cronoz. He isn't human. Anymore."

"Illogical. Unless he came into content with a dangerously radioactive chemical, he would not have changed into something inhuman," Cronoz stated, than chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"You humans have a weird sense of stating things. Especially in literature."

"Oh whatever. Let's just find-"

Before she could finish, Mariana must have sensed something. Because in that second, she jumped up into the air just in time to avoid a huge wrecking ball slamming onto the ground. She landed with her pistol drawn, while Cronoz transformed his arms for battle.

"You know, I could here you two from aaaaaaaall the way over here!"

The duo turned their heads to find the source of the call. Farther away, and high above them, stood someone working the controls to the crane holding the wrecking ball. He wore a purple jacket with streaks of green running down the arms of said jacket as well as green buttons on the front. Stitches were marked all over it. They ran along his brown tattered pants as well, and his hat as well. A black mask hid his face, highlighted by the yellow alien eyes that he had. Mariana and Cronoz could hear the him clap even from the distance he was at.

Mariana shouted at him. "Jack Heims! Under order of the Millennium Asylum, I have been sent to take you in for escaping two weeks ago!"

The wrecking ball quickly uplifted off the ground and nearly hit Mariana if she hadn't dodged away in the nick of time. Cronoz could hear the madman shout back. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of all your vital organs spilling out of your frail little body!"

Cronoz turned on his rocket boosters and flew up into the night sky, knowing Mariana could take care of herself. He shot himself forward, over towards the psychotic teenager. Jack didn't even notice the hulking metal robot land next to him, due to his hysterics and sole concentration on hitting the jumping white haired girl below him.

"Aw crap." Jack spat before pulling out his own weapon from his jacket while dodging Cronoz's crab-like claw. He pointed at the rusty mech's body and pulled the trigger, unleashing a stream of red-hot fire.

"Ha! How do you like that-" Jack began, only to be clobbered and sent spiraling to the ground. He strained himself as he looked up, to find Cronoz looking down at him.

"What are you, flame retarded?" The madman asked.

"Negative. I'm flame _retardant_," Cronoz replied, in a mocking, somewhat happy tone. "You are coming with me, Jack Heims."

"Oh yeah? With what army-" Again, Jack resorted to stop talking once the large mech shoved a rapid fire minigun at his face. "Damn it! I hate getting cutoff mid-sentence!"

In five minutes, Jack was loaded onto a truck and sent back to his asylum home, a scowl stuck on his face. Cronoz watched as the truck drove off, and began to follow. However, something caught his eye. He strayed away for a second, following what seemed to be a blue light coming from behind some metal crates. He forgot all about Mariana and Jack, and followed the blue shine.

Before long, he found himself staring into some sort of portal, shining blue. It lit up the portion of the harbor like a great candle. Cronoz lifted a finger and cautiously stuck it into the light that filled the inner circle of the portal. Then, he felt a pulling sensation. It was as if the portal itself was trying to suck him in. The mech tried to fight it, but it was no use. The force was too great, and the last thing he saw before succumbing to the portal's strength was the great white moon in the sky. Then, nothing…

* * *

><p>"And after that, I found myself here, in your world." Cronoz finished his story with a sigh, beat from reciting his tale.<p>

Old Osmond stroked his beard and nodded. "That is indeed an interesting story, Cronaz. But I must ask, why would you follow go towards something you were unsure of?"

The mech ignored the mistake to his name's pronunciation. "You refer to the blue portal I saw?"

Osmond nodded. "Logical. It was what I was programmed to do." The mech replied.

"You were programmed to do things you were unsure of?" Louise, who had been quietly listening throughout the entirety of the story, finally cut it.

"No. I was programmed to be the greatest information gatherer in the world. A mobile library," Cronoz paused. "Although… I believe running straight into situations without a thought before hand is what you were programmed to do, Ms. Louise."

Louise went red in the face immediately, ready to destroy her mechanized servant. However, the chuckles she heard from the principal stopped her short. This also surprised Cronoz. "O-old Osmond?"

"I can see that you two are getting quite along. I've never seen such a relationship between a student and a familiar," He paused to smoke his pipe. While he did so, the two before him exchanged glances. Old Osmond continued. "If you don't mind, Cranas, may I see your hand?"

Cronoz looked down at his hand, the one with the runes on it, then at Louise, before outstretching it slowly toward the elderly wizard. But, before Osmond could study it, a loud rumble shook the entire building, almost knocking Cronoz over. Louise and Osmond rushed over to the window, finding the source of the problem: A massive, stone beast had punched a hole into the same building they stood in. A shape could be made out escaping out of the building, carrying something in her arms.

"It's a golem!" Louise exclaimed.

"Then that means the person controlling it must be the thief Fouquet," Osmond frowned. "I can't tell what she took from the vault from this room…"

Louise turned her head to look at Cronoz, only to find him leaving the room. "W-where do you think you're going, familiar?"

The mech turned, and, if he had a mouth, he would have smirked. "Logical. Someone has to stop her. You coming, or not?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I am SOOOO sorry I haven't published this already! I have no idea what came over me. Letting my poor readers like yourself unable to read this for so long. If you're still there, don't you worry, the next chapter is going to be awesome. Just you wait.**

**I tried to give Cronoz his little bit of exposition in this chapter, I hope it didn't bore you too much. Next chapter will definitely be better. Cronoz vs. the Stone Golem! How bout that?**

**Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated, and sorry for keeping you away for so long! I'll try to get the next one out by the middle of next week!**


	6. The Bigger They Are

_ZnT_ belongs to Noboru Yamaguchi and J.C. Staff. I own Cronoz.

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><p><span>Chapter 6: The Bigger They Are…<span>

Even though he didn't have any lungs, Cronoz felt like something was on fire as he ran through the halls of the school, trying only to find the huge stone golem that he had seen second ago. He thought to himself as he tried to find the immense creature. _Impossible. How is finding this… thing so taxing? It's as big as-_

The mech turned his head toward the forest in the distance, watching birds scattering and some trees practically topping over. "Oh. There it is."

Before he started to move, he felt a hand on his left leg. Cronoz looked down, finding Louise, hunched over and panting, with her other hand on her bent knees. Her pink hair was sprawled all over the place, as if she had just gotten out of bed. Cronoz sniggered, causing his master to look up, still panting, and bark at him.

"W-what are y-you doing l-laughing at me like that?" Louise tiredly asked, brushing herself off.

"Nothing," Cronoz replied. "Just surprised you were able to run down those stairs fast enough to catch up with me."

"Whatever…" Louise looked up at the direction the golem was. "We need to catch Fouquet and her golem and retrieve whatever she took from the vault!"

Cronoz nodded. The large boosters on his back began to shift themselves outward, ready for usage. While doing so, he shifted his own arms into their combat forms. When all the gears finished clicking and clanking, the rusty mech bent its knees. He nodded his head towards his master. "All aboard."

Having ridden on her familiar before, Louise was still only half prepared to climb back on to his metal armored frame. However, she had grown to trust him - albeit a little bit - more since that time. She carefully grasped onto his shoulder piece, then attempted to swing herself over his back. Unfortunately, this didn't go as she had planned, ending up falling off. Fortunately, Louise was caught before hitting the ground.

"Why don't you just sit up here?" Cronoz asked in monotone, letting Louise sit atop his left arm.

She stared at him, but only for a second. "Let's just stop that golem, alright?" She said to him as she gripped his arm, preparing for her trip.

"That was the plan all along, wasn't it?" Cronoz replied.

Before Louise could respond, the mech ignited his boosters on his back and propelled himself into the sky. He wanted to fly as fast as he could, so he could confront this 'golem.' However, Cronoz remembered he had a passenger, one that didn't exactly feel spectacular while flying at such velocities. And besides, the mech didn't need anything other than rust covering his armor. If he could shiver, Cronoz would have at that thought.

Within minutes, the duo were hovering above the forest near the school. Even though they were trailing the largest creature the mech had ever seen, Cronoz couldn't for the life of him find it. It was as if it had just disappeared back into the earth from which it had come from. _But that's impossible…_ Thought Cronoz. Then he remembered where he was. _Alright then… improbable. _

Louise pointed toward an open field in the middle of the woods. Land there. We can search for Fouquet once we land."

Cronoz complied with a nod. Slowly but surely he hovered over to the open track of land. Once he was a foot off the ground, Cronoz disengaged his booster rockets on his back, setting himself back on solid ground. Louise stepped off her mobile companion, before looking around.

"She couldn't have gotten far…" She said aloud, still peering around the open area as Cronoz did the same with his scanners. "Do you see anything, Cr - familiar?"

"No, my scans are coming back negative." The rusty mech replied. _Strange. Did I just get a case of déjà vu? _He shrugged it off, thinking it was nothing.

"Well, keep searching. Fouquet must be-" Louise began, but stopped once she felt something. Cronoz felt it to. The ground underneath their feet began to shake, just like it had in the building a few moments ago.

"Louise. Is this what I think it is?" Cronoz hastily, yet still in monotone, asked.

"Uh huh! It is!" Louise shouted as the rumbling grew more intense. Cronoz quickly made his way over to his master and grabbed her, then barrel rolled out from under the rumbling earth before something erupted from it. Cronoz looked behind his back for a second, then attended to his master, who was still clutched between his arms.

"Are you alright, Ms. Valliere?" He asked as nicely as he could.

"Oh yeah, just perfect. You almost crushed me!" Louise shouted into his audio receptors.

Cronoz sighed. "You're welcome…" He released his grip from her before turning around to face the towering goliath that was now there. It was literally made up of thousands of stones, with clumps of green shrubs and trees covering it here and there. Its large black face and two stone colored eyes were directed right at the mage and mech duo. That did not fill either one of them with confidence.

"Alright, I've calculated our strategy of how we can defeat this thing." Cronoz said to Louise, who was whipping out her wand from her cloak.

"OK then. What is it?" Louise replied.

"I'm going to stand back and watch you make the whole thing fall apart with your magic. Sound good to you?"

"…Are you serious?"

"No… well maybe just a little."

"Now is not the time to-"

"Foot!"

The two dodged from the incoming stone foot that would have easily crushed them both in one go. Cronoz decided to try first a blunt approach to taking down the behemoth. Since the golem was so massive, the rusty machine calculated that it would be too slow to react to a physical attack, and too top heavy to keep its balance once an attack was administered. Cronoz jumped into the air toward the golem, and punched it as hard as he could with his claw-hand. However, it only seemed to take out a little bit of the rock that made up the monster's body. _What? That can't be right! It's only stone!_

Before he could fall back and think of a new plan, the golem swept its long arm and backhanded the mechanized familiar back onto the ground. Cronoz got back onto his feet almost immediately, but could tell without doing a systems check that he was indeed damaged. "Alright then," He mumbled to himself. "Not going to try that again…"

He looked up, finding the golem had advanced himself with clobbering range, with its hand in a fist ready to plow the mech into the ground. Cronoz readied himself to move, but watched as something else happened. An explosion seemingly appeared out of nowhere, destroying the golem's arm that was ready to pound Cronoz into a mecha-pancake. As the arm came crashing down, Cronoz looked around, finding Louise behind the golem with her wand out, and an accomplished smile on her face.

_Heh. Guess she's not a zero after all._ Cronoz chuckled to himself. He lifted his minigun up toward the golem's face. "Fire." The gun slowly started up, then began to tear up the golem. Each shot hit, breaking off thousands of stones off the giant's body. It staggered backwards, unable to comprehend this amount of force that was destroying it, bit by bit. Eventually, it toppled over, reducing itself to nothing but mere gravel and pebbles.

"Huh," Cronoz stretched his arms out as Louise hopped over the remains of the golem to get to him. "I thought that would be harder."

"Yeah…" Louise tapped her foot. "That seemed almost too easy. Nonetheless, we should continue our search for Fouquet." She began walking towards the forest behind them, but then another tremor rippled through the ground underneath their feet.

"I presume he's ready for round two!" Cronoz stated while checking his ammunition for his minigun. As he snapped it into place, a huge hand made of stone tore through the ground right underneath him, catching the mech off guard. He tried to jump off the hand could grab him, but was unprepared for the whole thing. The golem, who started to rise from the earth as if it hadn't left at all, grabbed a hold of Cronoz, almost crushing him. Louise tried to prepare another spell, but was knocked to the ground by the golem's rising from the ground. The mech tried to free himself, but to no avail. He could feel the pressure from the monster's grip one his armor, and, contrary to what others might think, it was indeed hurting him.

"Louise!" Cronoz strained himself. "Get out of here! Now!"

The pink haired mage picked herself up from off the ground. "You're not exactly in a position to give me orders, familiar!"

"Tch." Cronoz fought against the pain. _You're going to get yourself killed, idiot!_

Then, the two heard a noise, a whistle to be precise. The mech felt the pressure on his body cease to continue, and he started to look around to find where the noise came from. Louise was doing the same. As if on cue, a figure emerged from the forest and walked out in between Louise and the golem, with Cronoz still clenched in the golem's grip. She wore a black shroud over her head, with long green hair coming down over her shoulders. Her clothes were normal, and in here hand she held some sort of weapon that Cronoz seemed to recognize.

_Actually… _The mech thought to himself. _She looks familiar… have I seen her before?_

The figure chuckled. "I see you two have had some fun with my golem here, haven't you?"

Louise scowled. "Fouquet. Return what you've stolen from the academy!"

"Now who's the one in no position to be giving orders?" Fouquet laughed.

"Y-you were here when I said that?"

"She's been watching us since we walked into the principal's office," Cronoz cut in, making the green haired thief shift her gaze onto him. "Or am I wrong, Ms. Longueville?"

"What?" Louise almost fell over. The cloaked figure smirked, then slowly removed the shroud that covered her head, answering Cronoz's inquiry. Indeed, Fouquet had, in seconds, changed to the trusted secretary of the school's principal. "How did you know, familiar?" Longueville asked.

"Simple. I came up with the logical conclusion of your identity easily," Cronoz answered bluntly. "I had seen your wanted posters beforehand, and you exit from the Osmond's office is still in my memory banks. Also, your hair is a dead giveaway."

"Well, that is very perceptive of you, familiar," Longueville chuckled and clapped her hands together, resulting in more pain for the rusty mech. "Unfortunately, I can't have my secret being spilt by a mere… whatever you are. So, you and Ms. Valliere are going to have to disappear."

She held up the weapon that she stole from the vault and aimed it at Louise. The pink haired mage tried to move, but she felt all stiff, her legs unable to move. Not that she was scared, but because some of the rocks had been magically chained around her legs, unwilling to let her go. She closed her eyes, expecting the end to come soon. However…

"Oh come on! How does this thing work?" Longueville yelled, fiddling with the metal contraption, trying to make it do… anything at all.

Cronoz was able to scan the weapon before the golem started squeezing him again. It turned out to be a modern day weapon, a rocket launcher. How it got here was something he'd have to figure out another day. All he know was that Fouquet was going to end up trying to get rid of them with or without the launcher. An act that the mech wasn't looking forward to. He shut his optics and concentrated, focusing as much as he could on his right arm, the arm with the runes on his hand. He felt the power surging throughout his body, like he had was powered by a lighting bolt or something of equal power. The light from the runes shined through the cracks in the golem's fist, getting the attention of his master and enemy.

"Wh-what is that light!"

"Fam - Cronoz!"

The mech took this chance. He lifted his arms as much as he could, and somehow smashed right through the golem's hand. It exploded into bits, scattering everywhere. But Cronoz wasn't finished yet. He quickly dashed towards Fouquet and grabbed the rocket launcher from her. In one fluent motion, he turned around to face the golem, aimed the launcher at it - with Longueville still gripped to it, dumbfounded - and, without even thinking it, whispered "Fire." He pulled the trigger, sending a rocket straight at the titanic rock golem. It collided with its target in seconds, followed by a bellow of smoke that covered the entire field. Louise coughed and gagged, trying to disperse the smoke by waving her arm around. When it finally cleared, she gasped in surprise, with a hint of victory. A clear hole was present in the middle of the golem's chest, which after a few moments caved in on itself, sending it back to the ground it came from. Again. Louise was so happy she hadn't noticed Cronoz next to her, freeing her from the rocks that were wrapped around her ankles.

"C-Cronoz! That was amazing!" Louise exclaimed happily, but immediately calmed down when she noticed the four-eyed mech staring at her. "G-good job," She folded her arms together and stuck turned around, not wanting to show her red face. "As to be expected of a familiar."

Cronoz chuckled. "Of course."

"Wait! Where's Fouquet?" Louise turned around frantically.

"Don't worry. I got her." Cronoz turned his head to show Louise the green haired thief, who was wrapped up by some kind of thread. "She's not going anywhere."

Louise sighed. "Well then. I guess we should make our way back to the academy."

"Logical. I'll prepare my boosters in a second."

"Mm. Alright…" Louise trailed off and stared at the setting sun.

* * *

><p>It was a quick flight back to the academy, and Cronoz was surprised that Fouquet didn't try anything. Maybe she was so flabbergasted by his use of the rocket launcher. That made the mech feel pretty good. But something bothered him. Even when Osmond congratulated the two of them - Cronoz and Louise - for capturing the wanted thief, the young mage was quiet the whole time, speaking only when spoken to, and in a very hushed tone, barely a whisper. They were currently in her room, as she was readying herself for bed.<p>

"Query."

"…What is it?"

"You seem troubled. Is there something wrong, Louise?"

No response.

"Louise?"

Again, no response. Cronoz decided not to push the matter any further. He remembered, deep down in his memory banks, that when a woman wanted to be by herself, it was best to leave it at that. He began to stand up and slowly make his way out of the room. However…

"Stop."

He turned his frame around, finding Louise still staring out of her window at the moon. Cronoz wasn't sure what to do now. It was a feeling he hadn't felt in some time. It felt like an eternity passed before Louise spoke again.

"It's because I'm a zero…"

"Huh?"

Louise quietly walked up to Cronoz, then laid her head on top of his chest plate. He could feel the warmth from her body. He could also feel her trembling as well.

"I barely did anything in that fight today… I'm such a failure…"

_What? Where is this coming from all of a sudden?_ "Negat- I mean, that's not true. You made that explosion that-"

"That was a stroke of luck. I was aiming for its legs…"

For a while, there was dead silence. Only the whimpers and sniffs coming from Louise every few seconds. The mech wanted to process what to do next, but he knew it was no use. This was one of 'those' kind of moments his master was having. He had to do _something_. He was her familiar after all.

"Louise. Look at me." Cronoz asked politely.

At first, she did nothing. Just kept sniffling. Cronoz thought for a moment that she wasn't going to listen to him after all. Then she slowly lifted her head up, still having some water in her large pink eyes. Cronoz stared back with his own four bright white eyes.

"I was created to gather knowledge. Seek out what others could not confirm. Some say I was to be a perfect machine. A creation with no flaws whatsoever. However," Cronoz paused to point to his horned head. "I was created to increase this, not this." He laid a finger on his chest plate. He didn't have a heart of course, but that wasn't the point.

"Back in my world, I knew very few people aside from my creator," Cronoz continued. "The one I was closest to was just like you, in a way. She was small and smart, but she was also quiet and shy. She never opened up to anyone, barely ever speaking. Neither of us were perfect, yes, we were both flawed. But… that is what makes all life precious." He calmly laid a hand on Louise's shoulder. "Our flaws make us who we are, and they help us prosper and grow from it."

Louise said nothing, and just kept staring. Because of this, Cronoz decided on doing something on his own. He leaned forward and wrapped his long arms around her body, as he had earlier that day. "You, Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere, are one of the closest things I have had to be called a friend. And even in this world, if I am to only be called a servant, I never _ever_ want you to here you call yourself a zero…" He paused and shut his optics. "Affirmative?"

Dead silence again. Cronoz was absolutely sure he was going to get it now. Talking back to his master this way. Maybe his approach was too direct or something. But then, something as equally different happened. The mech could feel two shorter arms being wrapped around his body. They didn't reach, but it was still unsuspected… and a little bit pleasant for the rusty machine. He backed up a smidge, so he could look at his pink haired, pink eyed master.

"Alright, alright," Louise smiled at him. "Just no more dopey speeches, got it?"

If only Cronoz had a mouth, he would have smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Didn't I say I'd get this done before the middle of this week? I did right? Right? …Guys?**

**Don't know what dat's about… BUT anyway!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm 87% sure this is my longest chapter yet. The fight was fun to write about, although I felt I was a little repetitive. There's only so many synonyms for golem, ya know?**

**Also, I tried to delve into Cronoz's 'emotions' and his relationship with Louise. I hope that came out as good as I hope it is. And some junk. Also, this may be the part in the fic when the plot sorta-kinda-maybe-might change in the plot. Might do it in a different way than the anime does it. Just so you guys know**

**Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated, and I'll see you next update!**

**Happy Independence Day!**


	7. On The Road

_ZnT_ belongs to Noboru Yamaguchi and J.C. Staff. I own Cronoz.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 7: On the Road<span>

The fight a few days ago seriously drained Cronoz of his power, to which came no surprise when he did not wish to wake up the next morning, or the next two days for that matter. He just wanted some time to rest and recharge. Of course, this did not suit well with his pink-haired mistress.

"Hey. Hey. Hey." Louise relentlessly poked at her sleeping familiar with a riding crop that she kept when she wanted to… well, ride a horse. Her efforts seemed to be in vain, as each poke seemed to do nothing but make a small _TING_ on the metal frame of the mech's body. He was in his self-proclaimed 'sleep mode,' with his shape in that of a mushroom, just like the other times he went to sleep. This did not deter Louise from poking and prodding him, though.

"Hey, Cronoz. You need to get up. It's been three days, and your master needs you to be up! It's noon already, again! She waited for a few minutes, assuming he would cooperate eventually. After ten minutes, that was not the case. "Oh come on already! Wake! Up!"

Louise lifted her foot up and kicked the metal contraption, and immediately regretted it. The force of her kick combined with the durability of the mech's armor resulted in… pain. Holding her foot up with her hands, Louise began to bounce around her room on one leg, shouting "ow" multiple times. This action, although unorthodox and un-ladylike, did succeed in getting a reaction out of her familiar. The metal mushroom began to click and unfold, sprouting two arms and two legs, and finally the crowned pointed head poked out, finishing the transformation.

Cronoz's four circular eyes opened and shut a few times before finally letting them stay open. "Good morning, Miss Valliere." He spoke in his usual monotone voice.

"Finally! You sure took you're time!" Louise still bounced up and down, her foot still hurting.

"Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Huh? Oh! Yes, look at this!"

Louise stopped hopping and moved over to her dresser, finding what she was looking for: A sheet of paper. She delicately picked it up and handed it to Cronoz. He looked at it for sometime, his eyes zooming in and out, studying the scribbles written on it. It was obviously a letter, except…

"Query."

"Huh? What, haven't you read a letter before?" Louise folded her arms, presumably overestimating her familiar's knowledge.

"Correction: I have read letters. In multiple languages. However…" He took great care in not crumpling the paper as he handed it back Louise. "I am still unable to read your land's handwriting."

"So, what? You want me to read it to you?"

"That is the logical thing to do, unless you want to teach me the language in less than five minutes, which I would-"

"Ugh! Fine! I'll read it to you, will you just shut up! You're making my head hurt…"

"I do not believe that is a very ladylike thing to say."

"Oh, what do you know anyway?"

"…How to read letters in hundreds of languages. Except yours, of course. Among other things."

"Grrr…" Louise started to tap her foot furiously, and her face had never been more red with anger from her familiar's insults. Surprisingly, she kept from lashing out or yelling at him. She just held the letter up and began to read it.

"Dear Louise de La Valliere, you have been cordially invited, along with other students from the Tristain Academy of Magic, to attend a gala at the Tristain Palace, hosted by Princess Henrietta herself. It is to be a glorious evening, with food, drink, music and dance. We are preparing for the occasion as this letter is being is being written, and we hope you will be able to make it. The gala will be taking place in one weeks time. We will be glad to see you there."

Louise paused to take a breath. Cronoz decided to take this opportunity to speak.

"Gala. A social occasion with special entertainment and/or performances. Sounds like fun. I hope you enjoy-"

"Shh! I'm not done yet!" Louise wagged her finger at the rusty mech. She began again.

"Ms. Louise. It has come to our attention that you and your familiar were able defeat and capture the criminal Fouquet. Her majesty has personally requested an audience with him/her/it, for congratulations and thanks. She hopes that your familiar will oblige and join you when you arrive at the palace in one weeks time. Thank you. From the office of her majesty's committee."

Louise took another breath, then turned to Cronoz. "Now, how does that sound?"

"…I don't want to go."

"W-w-what?!" The pink haired mage almost lost her footing. "What do you mean 'you don't want to go?'"

Cronoz shook his head. "I do not wish to accompany you to this meeting with… who again? This… princess?"

Louise's mouth was so agape that Cronoz thought she had broken it. He assumed that humans should not have jaws that can almost touch the ground and still function properly. Once again, Louise recomposed herself. "You have been asked by the Princess of Tristain to meet with her. Do you not realize that this is a once in a life time opportunity? To think! Meeting the princess after such a long time…"

"Yes… If I recall, you once spoke to me about a time when you and this Henrietta had been childhood friends. Correct?"

"Y-yes," Louise blushed a little, remembering both the times from her childhood, and the time she told her familiar that tale. "Now I'll be able to see her again! We'll be able to catch up and…" Louise stopped and closed her eyes. _No, I most act normally around her. She's royalty now, and I can't just blurt out times of the past in front of an audience. That would be embarrassing… for the both of us…_

"Well, in any case, you're coming with me." Louise opened her eyes again, and when she did, she was taken a little aback by what she saw. Cronoz had moved up right next to her, his eyes seemingly peering right into her soul.

"No, I am not. I will be staying here," Then he turned around and headed towards the door. "You enjoy yourself."

Louise shook her head. "Come on, Cronoz! Didn't you say you wanted to gain knowledge and… whatever? What are you going to gain from staying in this cramped room all day?"

Cronoz stopped, then sighed. He didn't want to go outside to meet other people. He was programmed to learn, yet… it was as if he was actually _scared_ to meet new people. Back in his world, he wasn't much of a people person. He had very few friends, but even that seemed too much of a compliment. There was just his creator, and two others. Other than that, he was alone. Yet… coming to this world and meeting Louise… it changed him a little, but…

"Very well," He slowly turned around, meeting Louise's determined gaze. "I shall join you in this little escapade of yours."

Louise smiled. "Really? Fantastic. I knew I could get you to come with me. It just took a little… persuasion."

"Uh-huh…"

"Now!" Louise clapped her hands. "Let's get packing!" She began to open her dresser and shifted through pairs of clothes, trying to find the best ones like a child at a sweets store. Cronoz just stood around watching her.

"I'll, uh, take a little rest while you prepare then. I could use the recharge and-"

"What are you talking about? You're going to help me. Now, tell me which one of these looks better."

_It's going to be one of THOSE days, huh? _Cronoz thought to himself.

* * *

><p>After one whole tedious day of helping Louise find some more regal clothing for the event, Cronoz's mind kept switching back in forth from wanting to go and not wanting to go at all. He felt so indecisive, much like his pink haired master when choosing her attire for the gala.<p>

_What is coming over me?_ Cronoz thought to himself as he followed Louise, who had said earlier she had a surprise for him. _I'm not becoming… soft, am I?_ The mech would have chilled at the thought, but his armor was created to resist many elements, including the cold.

Lost in thought, he almost walked into Louise as she stopped to turn around. Well… trampled would be the more appropriate word.

"Hey! What are you doing? Walking with your eyes closed?" Louise shouted.

"Oops. My bad," Cronoz rubbed the back of his head. "I was… thinking about something."

"Well, whatever. Look! Here's the surprise I was talking about!" She turned around confidently and waved a hand. The 'surprise' she mentioned was a large wooden carriage with two horses hitched to it, waiting patiently. Cronoz would have batted an eyebrow. If he had any.

"Uh… Louise? Don't tell me this is our ride to the palace." Cronoz moaned in monotone.

"Of course it is! You're too big to ride a horse, and your appearance would start a commotion if we walked there."

_Heaven forbid, we actually get some _exercise_ on this little trip. _Cronoz shook his head. "Louise, you do realize I could have flown us to and fro without so much as a hassle, right?"

"Well…" Louise blushed and looked away a little, making Cronoz cock his head. "You worked kinda hard when you fought that golem back then… so I thought I could give you a break for once…"

Cronoz stared at her for a second, then to the carriage, then back at her. She was actually… repaying him for something, right? Of course she was. The mech chuckled and placed a metallic hand carefully on his master. "Thank you, Louise. I accept this gracious gift."

Louise looked up and smiled a bit at her familiar, then reverted back to her usual self. "Well, it is the master's job to repay their familiars every once in a while."

"Logical, I presume."

"Yes. Now!" Louise pressed her finger up against Cronoz's metal torso. "I'm going to check out something before we depart. I need you to go grab my luggage back up in the room."

Cronoz was confused. "If I recall, the gala isn't due for six more days."

"I wanted to get some things at the market before we meet the princess, and the trip there should take a bit, and then I thought I could do some sightseeing. I haven't been to the city for some time now." Louise started to walk away, not really wanting to hear her familiar's pleas.

"And if you wanted me to get your luggage, why didn't you just tell me when we were… back in the… room." She was already out of ear shot by the time he finished. The rusty mech snorted before turning around and started walking toward Louise's room.

_I guess old habits die hard…_ Cronoz rounded a corner, finding two first year students standing around in the hall. Their backs were turned toward him, but it looked as if they were talking to something in front of them. Cronoz enhanced his vision, looking right through their brown capes at whatever was at their feet. It was a person, female, with small shattered plates and cups on the ground. Then the mech realized who it was.

He stormed up behind the two, hearing part of their 'conversation.' "Ha! You clumsy plebian, dropping food and dishes everywhere. You're lucky there isn't a teacher here to- hey hey hey!"

The first year student felt something powerful lift him up from behind, and watched his friend get picked up as well. They turned their heads and squealed like little girls. An immense creature was holding them by the collars of their school uniforms, staring at them menacingly with four glowing eyes.

"Is there a problem, boys?" It hissed at them in monotone.

"Let us go! Don't you realize we are nobles? We'll-"

The monstrous being shook them up and down, frightening them. "Don't _YOU_ realize who _I _am?"

"No… wait! You're… you're that familiar who defeated the upperclassman!" One of the students whimpered.

"That is correct," He turned around and dropped them onto the stone floor. "Now, this is what you're going to do. You're going to apologize to this person, get out of here, and learn some manners. Do you comply?"

The two boys stared at the creature, exchanged glances, then gulped and nodded. They quickly spat out their apologies incoherently, then ran down the hall, almost tripping on one another. When they were out of sight, Cronoz turned to the fallen girl and held out his hand.

"Here, Siesta. Let me help you up."

The black haired maid smiled, wiping away the last of the tears in her eyes. "T-thanks Cronoz."

* * *

><p><em>15 minutes later.<em>

After confirming with her teacher Colbert, Louise returned to the carriage outside, where Cronoz was waiting patiently.

"Alright, I got the all clear from Mr. Colbert. We can head off now."

"Affirmative. I'll just hop in the back and-"

"Wait, you brought my bags down from the room, right?"

Cronoz nodded. "Affirmative. All seven of them. Speaking of which, might I be as so bold as to ask why you need seven cases of luggage for a two or three day trip?"

Louise flung her hair back. "A woman's got to prepared for any situation. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get my comb from one of the-"

For once in his life, Cronoz tensed up, even though his face didn't show it. "Uh… negative. I'll fetch it for you."

"But… you don't know which case it's in."

"Nonsense. I did help you sort everything. I'm eighty-seven percent certain I remember which bag it is in… if I carry the one."

"But-"

Cronoz flicked a finger up, much like Louise would have done, and turned around. He poked his head through the silk curtains that covered the entrance to the back of the carriage, so Louise could only see his backside. She waited a few minutes before speaking up again.

"I'd feel more comfortable if you just brought the luggage out and let me-"

"No no no! I got this! Just… uh… double check and lock your room up! Yeah, I didn't have a key, so you're going to have to lock it yourself." The rusty familiar waved his hand in a 'shoo, shoo' fashion.

Louise looked skeptical, as if he was hiding something from her. But she played along nonetheless. She turned around on her heel, actually thinking about heading to her room to lock it up while she's out. But before she made any progress, she heard a hushed conversation out of the corner of her ears. From inside the carriage.

"What do you mean, you can't find it?"

"Exactly as I said: I can't locate Louise's hair brush… comb… thing."

"Not to offend you, but aren't you super smart, or something?"

"True, I was created to be significantly smarter and stronger than a normal human being. However, when it comes to women's products of making their image… 'better,' I wasn't exactly trained for that."

"Gosh, you're hopeless."

"A-HA!"

Louise threw back the silk curtain hiding Cronoz's face, finding the mechanized familiar and his cohort, who smiled a sheepish smile and waved.

"Wait a minute… you're that maid from the other day!"

"Correction," Cronoz butted in. "Her name is Siesta, and she is… ah…. assisting me in finding your… brush. Ah! Found it!" Without even thinking, he dived his hand into an open bag and pulled out the first thing his iron fingers could grip. He closed his eyes, half hoping it was actually what he was looking for. How stupid he felt when he opened his optics to find…

"M-m-m-m-m-my…"

"Miss Valliere's…"

_Panties… Scrap._

* * *

><p><em>Two hours later.<em>

It had taken almost fifteen minutes to get Louise to calm down, and another fifteen to explain why Siesta was in the carriage with Cronoz. The mech tried his hardest to get Louise to understand his position on the matter, that he had asked the maid to come along with him to the city, just for him to have some company while Louise was out. Of course, she did not approve at first, but then Cronoz decided to barter with his pink haired master. He offered that if Siesta could tag along, he would act as proper and regal as he could while in the presence of the princess. This got her attention, so the mech knew he struck home.

She agreed to the terms, which led them to their location now: On the road to the palace. Louise rode up front, while Cronoz and Siesta sat in the back. They had been in silence for some time now, with Louise still slightly annoyed by the fact a commoner was coming with them, and Cronoz had shut down for some recharge. Louise stared out the one of the two windows the wooden carriage had, taking in the nature of the trip, and how much fun it would be to be out of the Academy for some down time.

Then a noise caught her attention. It was faint, like a low humming sound. She looked around, trying to find the bug she assumed it was coming from. When she could find no such thing, she looked at Cronoz, who's optics were closed, unaware of the noise. Siesta listened carefully, pinpointing the exact location of the hum.

"Miss Valliere! Miss Valliere!" She called out to the front of the carriage.

"Huh? What is it?" Louise asked, seemingly bored.

"Cronoz is making a weird noise! It's coming from inside him!"

"What?"

The young mage stopped the horses and jumped off the front seat, scrambling to the back of the carriage and jumping inside. She placed her head against the rusty mech's chest plate. At first, she heard nothing, about to go off on Siesta. However, after a second, she did hear the soft hum. It was comforting, in a strange way. Like a beating heart, or something.

"Now, now. How are we going to get to the city in time if you're not at the reigns?"

Louise and Siesta each made a small jump. Cronoz opened up two of his circular eyes, chuckling as he did so. Siesta took a breath and made a small giggle, Louise's face reddened slightly.

"I thought you were asleep." Siesta looked Cronoz directly in the face.

"I was. Until you started to call out to Louise up front."

"But how-"

"You were right next to my hearing sensors."

"Whatever!" Louise held up her hands. "What was that low humming noise?"

"Ah. You mean this." Cronoz opened his other two optics and lifted his right hand up to his right arm. He pressed some buttons that seemed completely foreign to the two girls. With a final button push, his chest place slowly opened up with a 'ssss' noise. A faint blue glow caught his onlooker's eyes. After three more plates slid out of the way, they saw the source of the light. It was an azure sphere, glowing brighter than any star or gem. Small rings overlapped it, rotating over and over. It brought the strange comfort with it, making Louise smile a little.

"W-what is it?" Siesta asked first.

"A logical question. Although it would take a few days to explain it in it's entirety-"

"We don't have that kind of time right now!" Louise shouted.

"You didn't let me finish. It would take me a few days to explain it all, but I will summarize it for you. This blue orb is basically the equivalent of a human heart. It sustains my life and lets me continue to collect knowledge. As long as it keeps rotating and sending me energy, I will be able to function properly."

"That's too cool!" Siesta said with a smile. "It's like your some kind of superhero or something!"

"A superhero? I don't know about that…" Cronoz shook his head.

Louise nodded. "Y-yeah. You've been reading too many fictitious stories, maid."

Siesta scratched her head. "Yeah… maybe you're right. But that's still very cool Cronoz!"

Cronoz would have blushed if he could. He never got this much praise back in his world. He pressed some more buttons on his arm, and his chest reverted back to it's usual, rusty self. "At any rate, I believe we should began our trek again, right Louise?"

Although caught off guard by mentioning her name, Louise stood up and nodded. "That's right. I'll start us up again." She walked out of the carriage, and with one slight glance back at Cronoz, she made her way back to the front of the carriage and started the horses up again.

"I'm so excited to be going to the city with you, Cronoz! Maybe I'll be able to show you my uncle's bar while we're there!" Siesta snuggled up close to the mech.

"Maybe, if Louise doesn't have me doing some task for her."

"You really care about her, don't you?"

Cronoz cocked his head a little, taken aback by the sudden question by his maid-friend. "Y-yes. I would assume a familiar would care about their master. I calculate that comes with the territory."

She knocked on his armored body with her soft knuckle. "You know what I mean, Cronoz."

"Uh… So about your uncle's bar of yours…"

"Don't try to change the subject!"

_I guess one of THAT kind of day turned into THAT kind of week…_

Unbeknownst to either back seat rider, Louise had been listening to every word they had been saying. She echoed her familiar's answer in her head.

_Yes…_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Pwease like this! Pwease? I know it sounds like filler, and it kinda is. Sorry about that. This is a comedy / friendship oriented fic, with some action kinda sorta I guess. It's supposed to be about Cronoz and Louise's relationship, albeit as rocky and strange it is. But hell, there's a bunch of you following this fic, which I'm grateful for, especially those who've helped with my flaws. You know who you are, and I thank you. **

**Next update, we'll be having Cronoz's confrontation with the (in)famous Princess Henrietta! Until then, thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated, and have an awesome day, you great people you!**

**P.S: If you actually read these things, tell me so. It's not really necessary, I'd write them either way. Haha.**


	8. City Folk

_ZnT_ belongs to Noboru Yamaguchi and J.C. Staff. I own Cronoz.

**A/N: For anyone who asked a question about Cronoz, I have your answers! They are at the bottom, as well as a long overdue update as to why I'm so late! But for now, enjoy the chapter!**

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><p><span>Chapter 8: City Folk<span>

The sun had begun to set by the time the trio of travelers made it to the city. Lucky for them, no one really wanted to take a look in the back of the carriage, no less ask them who they were or what their business was in the city. That notion gave Cronoz much needed relief, seeing as if anyone spotted who him would create quite the commotion.

He was somewhat surprised, however, at how large the city - which he assumed was the capital of the land - was. Even from the small window in the carriage he was able to see multiple shops and vendors selling a variety of goods. Of course, at this time, they were packing up and finishing any last minute deals to buyers. Cronoz calculated that during the day this place must have been packed with people. He could only theorize how bad it would have been if they came in during the day.

Siesta was more than happy to allow Cronoz and Louise entry into her uncle's bar, although the latter was a little annoyed she would have to stay in a commoner's home, and a bar for that matter. Cronoz didn't mind in the slightest, especially after meeting Siesta's more-than-enthusiastic uncle behind the building.

"Oh my~! Aren't you the biggest lovable metal… thing I've ever seen!" Scarron practically sung, not really minding Cronoz's daunting appearance. "Siesta's told us all about how you beat up that boy back at the school. You're a real bona fide knight in shining armor, aren't you?"

"Well… I wouldn't say that." Cronoz scratched the back of his head. Louise simply rolled her eyes.

"Well! In any case, you are welcome here, anytime! Let me go prepare the back room for you, big guy," Scarron then motioned towards Louise. "And you, little lady. My daughter Jessica will prepare the upstairs room for you, alrighty~?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Louise answered. Cronoz nudged her with his finger, which got her attention. He gave her a glance that said _'come on, lighten up. They're just trying to be friendly.'_ Cronoz didn't have to read his master's returning glance to know what she was feeling: Irritation.

"Great! I'll get started inside, you guys hang out here for now." Scarron winked and smiled, then went inside, leaving Siesta, Cronoz and Louise to themselves.

"Uh… Siesta. Is your uncle always this… uh…" Cronoz couldn't exactly piece together the right adjective to describe his gracious host.

"Inviting?" Siesta answered with a smiled. "Yeah, he's a bit eccentric. Guess that comes when owning your own bar."

"Uh-huh," Cronoz turned his head towards Louise. "So, Louise are you… hey! Where are you going, Louise?"

He hadn't noticed it, but the pink haired mage had already made her way halfway out from behind the pub towards the main shops of the city. She turned on her heel and shouted back towards the mech.

"I'm going out for a bit! Need some fresh air! I'll be back soon!"

"But it's going to be dark in a few… minutes… Ugh…" Cronoz shut his optics, knowing his protests were falling upon deaf ears, as Louise was already gone. "She has a habit of doing that, doesn't she?"

"I wouldn't know. Besides, you're the closest one to her, right?" Siesta responded.

"Yeah… I assume so," Cronoz looked back to his friend. "I just worry about her sometimes and…"

Siesta scooted over and leaned up against the mech's rusty frame. "And?"

Cronoz realized what he was saying, and quickly tried to resolve it. "N-nothing. Never mind."

Siesta giggled. "Whatever you say, Cronoz," She bobbed up and down as she headed towards the door. She opened the back door, turning her head around to meet Cronoz's gaze. "I'm going to help my uncle, you just stay out here for now, OK?"

"Because, you know, there's so many places for me to go right now."

"Oh, just say 'affirmative' or something."

Cronoz chuckled. "Affirmative."

* * *

><p>It wasn't much later until Louise returned to the pub, looking as she did since she left some time ago. She rubbed her eyes, realizing how tired she actually was. For once, she actually hoped her familiar's friend - Siesta, that was her name! - and her family had prepared the room they had said they would have for her. The young mage opened her eyes again, and cocked an eyebrow. She was surprised to find none of the famed waitresses around to clean up the closed pub. Even Scarron seemed to be absent.<p>

"Where can everyone be?" She muttered to herself as she walked farther in. She found no one in the kitchen or behind the liquor counter. It was completely barren.

_I'll bet all my skills as a mage…_ Louise thought to herself as she looked toward the direction of the door that lead to the back room of the pub. She marched over to it and opened it quietly, hoping for once she was wrong. Unfortunately, she wasn't.

Amongst the large barrels and kegs of assorted wine and drinks stood everyone working at the bar. All the waitresses, clad in their maid outfits, all stood around a singular point of interest, gawking in awe. Scarron and Jessica both stared interested. At the center hold of it all was Siesta, nodding with her hands on her hips, acting all superior and what not. And, of course, the 'point of interest' was none other than Cronoz, whom, although unable to show it, felt awfully uncomfortable with all the attention he was receiving.

Louise, whom had been unnoticed, grew more and more angered by this. _How dare that maid flaunt him around like he's some kind of personal accessory! He was HER familiar! Her servant! Her-_

She blinked for a second. Why was she getting so worked up over something as trivial as her servant? It wasn't… that big of a deal. Why was she thinking so much about it? She shook her head. She'll think about it later, when the time allows her. For now, she kept on spying on the gathered crowd, who were still oblivious to her presence.

"So, as you can see, ladies, Cronoz is a highly advanced… uh, thing," Siesta still had a little trouble defining what her rusty metal friend was, even after he had explained himself to her in the simplest terms multiple times. "And now! He shall show you one of his many kind of… thingies, that he used to beat the student from the academy!"

Whilst the waitresses 'oooed' and 'awwed,' Cronoz stared at Siesta with uncertainty. "By 'thingies' do you refer to my M390 minigun?"

"The spinning one, yeah!" Siesta tapped his chest with the palm of her hand.

Cronoz sighed. "Alright. But this course of action seems most… regrettable."

He lifted his right arm, and, with only a small second thought, activated the shifting sub-routine. Like before, his fingers stretched and spun around before recessing into his, with the armor around his arm expanding and sliding away, revealing the long barrels of the minigun. The circular rods spun and spun until they were in place, with the transformation ending with multiples clicks and clanks.

The waitresses all coed, obviously not having seen anything like this before. Cronoz took some slight enjoyment out of their astonishment. It was out of place and odd, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. One of the maids placed her hands upon the massive weapon. "Can you sure how us how it works, metal man?"

"Of course he can!" Siesta proudly declared.

"No." Cronoz replied.

"What!" Many of the maids' faces turned sour, disappointed to hear the denial so quickly. Siesta was most irked. "Why not?"

"Normally, I would do this favor for you. However, not only are we inside a building, there is a high probability that I could injure someone here," The mech shook his head. "Even worse, I could attract unwanted attention from people outside. I hope you can-"

Before he could finish, Cronoz found his arm being grabbed by Siesta, who fruitlessly began to tap whatever buttons she could find.

"Come Cronoz! Don't be such a stickler!"

"Siesta, can you please stop that before-"

Again, the mech was unable to finish. Siesta slammed one too many buttons and controls with her fists that the weapon fired, letting loose a stream of bullets. The maids screamed at the sudden burst, dropping to the down and pulling their hands on their heads. Cronoz, surprised that his own weapon fired without him telling it to, responded quickly by overriding the unnecessary command to shoot. The bullets immediately stopped, leaving the only sound in the room the barrel of the gun slowing down. Cronoz scanned around the room, trying to detect if anyone was injured. He registered that no one was hurt in anyway, thankfully. The only thing that seemed to suffer any damage was the door that led to the main part of the pub. It was completely full of holes, barely hanging on its hinges.

Scarron, who popped out of a nearby barrel, let out a heavy sigh. "At least no one got hurt," He then turned to Cronoz. "You, sir, are one powerful thing!"

Cronoz didn't respond, as he was too busy staring at the destroyed door. Bits of wood fell from it, before it ultimately fell to the floor with a slam. If he could gulp, he would have. Behind the door, stood a bug eyed, pink haired - now ruined by the hail of bullets that whizzed past it - Louise, who shivered in place for a few moments, giving everyone enough time to see her ghostly pale expression, before she fell flat on her back and fainted.

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><p>After a full day of sleep, Louise eventually woke up, and, as expected, shouted and berated Cronoz, saying how he could have killed her. The mech tried to explain, but his agitated master wouldn't have any of it. After a while, though, she calmed down, as Cronoz had calculated. The next few days seemed like a blur to Cronoz. Louise went in and out of the tavern whenever she pleased, leaving once to inform the palace of a time when Cronoz and her would be able to meet with the princess. In the meantime, Cronoz stayed at the <em>Charming Fairy.<em> He helped fix whatever he had accidentally damaged, talked plenty to the ladies of the pub, and even learned a few happenings within the city. Scarron and Jessica informed him of the ignorant nobles who would barge in, ordering drinks as if they owned the place.

"Although, I bet they wouldn't stand a chance against you, Crozy!" Scarron had reassured him.

Cronoz faked a chuckle, unsure how to react to being called such an odd pet name. Familiar was one thing, but… 'Crozy?' Now that's just silly.

Eventually, the night of the gala reared its head, making both Louise and her familiar nervous. She didn't like the idea of having the day of the ball to be the day of the meeting, and neither did Cronoz. But, that's how it was, the palace committee had said.

The maids of the pub, along with Siesta, Cronoz, Jessica, and Scarron, gathered in the back of the shop to watch as Louise came down from the upstairs room, wearing her dress for the gala. It was a very beautiful dress: snow white with pink frills and a pink bow on her back. Her hair was tied in the back, with only a few strands still falling down to her shoulders. A golden necklace completed the stunning image Louise hoped for. The maids clapped, making Louise turn a little red.

"You look great, Ms. Valliere!" Siesta smiled.

"Definitely." Jessica nodded.

"You'll be the queen of the ball, little lady!" Scarron cooed, making Louise feel… well, awkward.

She walked up to Cronoz, who nodded his approval. "You look very nice, Louise."

Louise made a triumphant smirk. "Of course I do. Why shouldn't a noble dress up for such an occasion?"

Cronoz chuckled. Before she began to walk toward the door, the mech thought she heard her say something. It was a very faint sound, barely even picked up by his audio sensors. Although she may not admit, Cronoz could have sworn Louise had said "Thank you." The thought of her doing said made Cronoz chuckle again.

Before exiting the tavern, Louise turned around. "Oh right. Cronoz," she pointed a finger at him. "An officer from the palace will come to get you after some time. I told him to come here directly, so please be on your up-most behavior."

Cronoz waved a hand. "When have I done otherwise?"

She made a short smile, waved to the rest of the group, and left.

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><p>Siesta walked into the back of the store to find some extra bottles of spiced wine, as service seemed to be in high demand today. She looked over towards Cronoz, who had said he needed 'maintenance,' to which he began doing whatever he was doing now. He rambled off saying things like 'Ammunition check: 50%' and 'Armor Damage: 85%.' Siesta decided to let him be and kept looking for the wine. Looking around, she eventually found it: a full case of the desired drink, hanging unnoticed on the top of a large wooden wine rack. The black haired maid stood on her tiptoes, trying to reach it, but to no avail. She decided to stand on the next ledge (luckily devoid of any bottles) to see if she could grab the case.<p>

"Ah-ha!" Siesta triumphantly exclaimed once her hands grasped firmly on the case. Unfortunately, the sudden grabbing of said object made the wine rack wobble, causing her to loose balance. She felt herself falling backwards, and let out a short yelp before shutting her eyes.

However, instead of the ground rushing up to her, she felt something catch her. Something metal. She looked up, and smiled sheepishly. "Thanks Cronoz."

The mech let out a caring metallic sigh. "Your welcome." He helped Siesta back to her feat, who had been able to hold onto the case of wine despite the relatively small fall. Suddenly, another voice popped out of nowhere.

"Cronoz," Siesta and the mech turned to see Jessica standing by the doorway. "The person from palace has come to pick you up. She's waiting in the backyard."

The rusty machine nodded his horned head. He lurched around to exit the back room, but he felt something tap his shoulder. It was Siesta, holding the case with one arm. "Do be careful, alright? Don't let those palace guys intimidate you, OK?"

Cronoz would've smiled. "Of course. Besides, I'm an armor plated fully functional steampunk class seeker. I'm sure some guards aren't going to frighten me."

* * *

><p>Cronoz, knowing very well he had no internal structures similar to a throat, still let out a short sound that could be related to a gulp when he scanned the 'escort' the palace committee sent to fetch him. A white robed sword wielding woman stared at him with icy blue eyes. She had short golden hair, with clothing that seemed to outline her authority with no need for words. She stared at Cronoz for sometime, even after he shut the door behind him.<p>

"Hello, I assume you're-" Cronoz began, to which he was immediately interrupted by a quick flash of the hand by the woman.

"You are Louise de La Valliere's familiar, correct?" She asked, sternly.

Cronoz nodded. "I am." He calculated that extended conversations with this woman was going to be troublesome, so the mech decided he should keep his answers to a minimum.

The woman nodded. "I am Agnes Chevalier de Milan, Captain of Tristain's musketeers under her majesty Queen Henrietta. I'm sure you are aware that her majesty has asked to see you," She paused, as if expecting a response. Cronoz simply nodded. "I have a carriage large enough for you to fit in, as your master had instructed." She turned around, and began to walk out into the city. Luckily for the mech, the veil of night was descending, giving him some much needed relief.

_This Agnes though… _Cronoz thought to himself as he followed behind the short haired Captain. _She troubles me._

As she had said, the rusty mech found a carriage - much more regal than his last ride - waiting for him near the pub. It was a dark purple, with a high roof and golden framework. The horses hitched to the fancy coach bucked a little at the sight of the metal giant emerging from the darkness. Agnes calmed them down with some simple petting, and motioned for Cronoz to get in the back. He complied without a word, although still worried about being spotted in open, albeit at night. The carriage staggered as he stepped in, his metal frame arched to fit inside. Agnes quickly came around, shut the back door, returned to the front of the coach, hopped onto the seat, and cracked the reigns, starting the horses up.

Cronoz decided to look out the windows of the carriage. He found many buildings lit up like stars, street lamps turning on, illuminating the street, and the hustle of some of the citizens, either to return home or on some other business. He wondered what it would be like to be free, but then remembered how outlandish it would feel to be let loose in a world he still barely had scratched the surface with.

He looked up through the peephole that let passengers talk to the rider, finding Agnes still carrying out her simple duties. Inevitably, curiosity got the better of him.

"So, uh, do you live here in the city, Ms-" Was the only thing he could say before Agnes shut the tiny window without looking. The mech blinked his eyes, and sighed. "Not much of a talker, are you." He quietly muttered to himself before continuing his stare down with the city outside the windows.

Lucky for Cronoz and Agnes alike, the trip was short, with the Captain bringing the coach around the castle walls. Cronoz watched as guests poured into the humongous white building. It wasn't as many as the number he had seen when he first entered the city, but it was pretty close. Before he knew it, the mech had ended up staring at the magnificent construction longer than he should have. The carriage abruptly stopped, meaning the trip was finally over. The back door opened up after a moment by the short haired woman, letting the mech slowly lumber out. Agnes watched as he did so before speaking in her authoritative tone.

"Follow me." She began walking, not even checking to see if Cronoz was following her.

"I assume you have planned for me to get inside without any of the guests seeing me, correct?" Cronoz asked as politely as he could.

Agnes nodded without looking back. "We set up restricted areas for the guests, just for you to have your talk with her majesty."

"I see…" The mech said quietly as he followed the captain. From the back of the castle, she took the metal familiar through an door that led into the cellar of the pristine building. The two walked in silence, Cronoz's heavy footprints following Agnes' normal, yet quickened, pace. Eventually, they made it onto the clean, majestic hallways of the castle. Cronoz couldn't help but notice the guard's expressions as he walked down the long aisles. He wouldn't admit that it didn't give him a hint of entertainment. After turning a corner and walking a bit more, Agnes stopped and turned on her heel. She motioned towards the door that the two now stood in front off. It was large, painted red with beautiful, yet simple, designs on it, as well as guarded by two more sentries.

"Through that door is her majesty, Queen Henrietta, as well as your master, Miss Louise. They have been catching up for some time now…" She peered right into Cronoz's optics, her eyes as serious as the mech had ever seen on any human being. "I, as well as six other royal guards will be in the room while you speak with the queen. And I'll warn you right now: Try anything, anything at all, and you'll regret it."

Cronoz wanted to narrow his optics, but he thought of Louise and how much this meant to her. So, he simply nodded. "I understand, Ms. Agnes."

"We'll see."

The Captain opened the door, and stepped in, with Cronoz following close behind. He looked around, scanning the interior. It was as royal as he expected, with elegant banners that matched the long rug that his triangular feet stepped on (as carefully as he could, mind you). Large white pillars supported it, two at the entrance and two in the back. Speaking of the back, a couple of short steps led to an upper stage, where two large regal chairs lay, chairs that were both filled. Both girls, beautifully stunning in their own right, laughing together as if they had known each other their entire lives. They both looked at Agnes and Cronoz as they entered, each equally happy to see them.

Cronoz hadn't noticed, but Agnes had quietly bowed after they were close enough to the thrones. "Your majesty, I've brought Ms. Valliere's familiar, just as you asked."

The one Cronoz didn't recognize - but obviously could guess - stood up. "Thank you, Agnes. But please, you may call me by my name. No need for 'your majesty.' Henrietta will do nicely."

Cronoz, however, did notice the very slight, but ever present, relief - and surprise - that flooded over the gruff female captain. "Thank you, Ms. Henrietta."

"So, this is the mighty metal familiar I've heard so much about," Henrietta smiled as she stepped down the tiny steps and walked up to Cronoz. She wore a bright white gown, with a bright purple cape draped over her as well. A silver crowned was perched on top of her equally violet hair, which matched the necklace and gemstone on her chest. "Louise speaks very highly of you, Cro… Cro…"

"Cronoz, your highness," the mech nodded.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. It's just such a uncommon name for such an uncommon creature, if you don't mind me saying."

"It's alright, Ms. Henrietta," The rusty familiar glanced over to Louise, whom had since gotten up and made her way to them. "My mistress speaks very fondly about you as well, Miss."

This brought a subtle flush of red to Louise's face, which also got her to finally speak. "N-not that anything is wrong with that! I… I was just bored, and decided to humor him with some stories of our friendship."

Henrietta smiled. "Oh Louise. You don't have to act so proper with me in front of your familiar. It's quite fine that you told him."

"Oh, really? Well… I guess it's alright then…" Louise smiled awkwardly.

The queen turned again to face Cronoz. "Of course, as you seem to know, I asked for you to come here with Louise to allow me to personally thank you for capturing the criminal Fouquet, and bringing her to custody." She bowed, which seemed to give great surprise to not only Louise, but to everyone in the room. Even Cronoz, who knew very well what he was here for, was taken off guard a bit.

"Well… Thank you, ma'am. I'm glad to have pleased you," He again took a glance at his pink haired master. "Of course, it was my master who was there for me. I wouldn't have been able to anything if she hadn't been there."

"Oh, is that right?" Henrietta turned to face Louise, who had resumed her transformation into a tomato.

"Credit should be given when credit is due. It is only logical." Cronoz said, unsure if his words were sounding genuinely kind, or soul-crushingly embarrassing. He decided it would be better to pick the former.

"Well, I am glad that you two are able to get along as well as you do, and once again I must thank you," She stared right at Cronoz. "Thank you for taking care of my friend, Cronoz."

The mech nodded again. "Yes, Ms. Henrietta."

"I must admit, when I first heard of a metal being not only defeating a student at the academy, but also a wanted criminal, I was sort of… speculative," Henrietta said, seemingly out of nowhere. "But after what Louise told me about you, as well as seeing you here now, I must say that I am absolutely certain that you would be perfect."

Louise and Cronoz exchanged glances, confused. "What do you mean, your maj- I mean Ms. Henrietta?" Louise asked.

The queen shut her eyes, her mood taking a surprisingly serious turn. "As you may know, Tristain has been receiving threats from Albion."

Cronoz nodded. "Yes, I'm aware. Louise has told me once or twice before hand about the country. They've been having some political issues, some of which deadly, if I recall."

Henrietta nodded. "That is correct. They wish for us to surrender to them, allowing the leader of the rebellion, Cromwell, to have direct control over this Tristain."

"But you've told them 'no' on several occasions, right? That you wouldn't give up this country for their own plans?" Louise inquired.

"We have, yes. But they are very stubborn, and have denied resolving this peacefully. And I am worried that we could very well be on the threshold of a major battle…" It was then that Henrietta opened her eyes, her gazed fixed on Cronoz. "However, that's where _you_ would come in, Cronoz."

"Me?" The mech pointed to himself.

"Henrietta, what are you saying? That you want Cronoz to…"

"Yes, Louise. I would like Cronoz to help fight Albion for us."

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><p><strong>AN: Awww, sheet! He left on a cliffhanger?! That b*sterd!**

**Alright, alright. I have a lot to say as to why this has taken so long to be completed. But first, let me apologize for it. I wanted to get this out to you WAY before now, but I always found myself getting distracted. Also, a lot… and I mean A LOT of personal problems have been happening around my house as of late. I don't want to say it, but I hope you guys can understand. It's putting a lot on my plate. School is also a major, major bitch. Once again, I hope you get where I'm coming from.**

**But now! For more important stuff! Some of you asked some questions regarding Cronoz and his character, mostly about his recharging method. One of you put it very, very well: His recharging method is very similar to the Energon that fuels the characters in the 'Transformers' franchise. His ammunition and fuel, on the other hand, are a bit more complicated. His ammo reserves are plenty, since so much is needed to fire a weapon such as a minigun to begin with. In the chapter where he explained how he entered through the portal, he still had plenty of ammo despite the fight in his world. The question is… will it run out? That's a question that might have to be answered later…**

**His fuel is sort of on the same premise. Although I want to say that he could just use the energy from his energy core, I want it to be somewhat believable. I'm not a perfect writer, and I'm aware of this. Hell, this entire story could be filled with plot holes if you were to point them out (Please do, if you do). However, I do want to say this: Despite this being my fourth fan fiction, it is also one hell of a popular one (if you guys don't mind me saying). I really appreciate it, and I do really enjoy having so many people read my work and thoroughly enjoy it. Thanks so much guys! You guys rock!**

**I'll try my hardest to give you at least two final chapters before the year ends. And hell, if I meet my quota, I might even have something special for anyone who- Oops, don't want to give away too much! **

**Thanks so much for reading, reviews are helpful, and I'll see you guys (hopefully) soon!**


	9. Important

**So, yes, this probably will get taken down and I'll get in trouble. I'm only going to keep this up for a couple a days, maybe a week.**

* * *

><p>Apologies are in order, I suppose. I know I promised a couple of months ago that I would have finished this story by now. Truth is… A lot of stuff happened. Personal family stuff, moving, blah blah blah. You get the drill I know this fic - which, out of the four I've written, is the most popular, which I'm very grateful for - just isn't doing it for me anymore. The story took a turn I really didn't want it to take. I probably could have avoided this problem if I actually set up a plot beforehand, rather than just write on the go. But now… I just don't enjoy writing the story. That's the bottom line. I thought about it a bit, and the <em>ZnT<em> anime really actually isn't very special to me as it was when I first watched it way back when. I know that shouldn't really matter, but it effects how I feel about the story as a whole. I can't really write characters I remember very well. Which is obviously the case in my _own_ character, Cronoz. I really liked the character in the beginning, but now? The idea was to have him become more human, I guess. But that hasn't played out at all how I wanted it to.

So that's the issue. I can't really continue this story. I am so, so sorry to all those who have enjoyed it, which is a hell of a lot. I mean, I don't know if having a lot of followers and favorite… ters(?) is a common thing, but hey, it works for me. I really appreciate everyone who read, reviewed, and commented on this. It really means a lot. I honestly don't even think I could have spat out that last update back in… what, December, if it hadn't been for you guys.

I don't know how I can save this fic, but I also don't want to see it rot on such a sour note. So… I'm leaving it up to you guys. (I'm sure I shouldn't be writing this out in public, but hey, how else am I supposed to get it out?) There's two options: One, I give you a summarized ending of how the fic was supposed to end. It won't be entertaining, but it would probably tie up the loose ends.

Or, two. If you guys really, _really_ enjoy the fic that much, I will try my hardest to actually create a worthwhile ending that will satisfy everyone. Message me through P.M, so it doesn't fill up the review box, which I know sounds petty, and that it looks like I'm just trying to get attention, but I am sincerely not. I'm not one of those kind of people (OK, now _that_ sounds a little petty). I am just giving you the opportunity to choose Cronoz's fate.

If this gets taken down, then hey, what are you going to do. Thanks again for all the support. I really couldn't have done it without you guys.

Makuta52


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